Al Crane

Tour de France 2025 - 'Le Loop' - supporting the William Wates Memorial Trust

Le Loop follows the official route of the Tour de France, one week ahead of the professionals and finishes 21 stages later in Paris

On Friday 25th June 2025 around 100 riders will gather in Lille for the 'Grand Depart'. Some cycle a few days, some ride further. More will join us over the following 3 weeks of the tour.

My goal is to complete the full 21 stages of the Tour de France route. Every participant commits to raising a minimum amount for the William Wates Memorial Trust (WWMT). The fundraised money is entirely separate from the participation fee - donations do not pay for my Tour. 

All monies raised go directly to the William Wates Memorial Trust whose mission is to help the most disadvantaged young people keep away from a life of crime and violence and fulfill their potential. This is achieved by giving grants to charities that engage young people through the medium of sports, arts and education.

It's been a tough couple of years for charities and particularly for young people. This is my chance to give something back and help support young people who aren't lucky enough to enjoy the advantages in life that most of us take for granted.

Fun facts to help you decide on how generous you want to be :-)

* Start: June 28th Lille

* Finish: July 20th Paris

* 21 Stages - 3320KMs / 2062 miles

* 51,550m climbing

Imagine running a marathon every day for three weeks (and two marathons on some of the big days) and you get a sense of the challenge!

Le Loop is no small undertaking. Riding even ONE stage of the Tour de France route is going to hurt! Please reward my pain by giving generously.

My employer, Lucera (www.lucera.com ), have given me tremendously generous support to take on this unique challenge.

I will proudly wear the Lucera logo on my kit for the event to celebrate their support and the great things this will do for the William Wates Memorial Trust. 

I am enormously grateful for their support and use this as additional motivation to do them and The Foundation proud. 

Merci!