James Young

Le Loop: Six Everests, One Ride, One Reason.

This summer, I am taking on one of Europe’s toughest endurance cycling challenges: The Tour De France (Grande Loop).

It is not a race. It is a sustained test of physical resilience, mental focus, and commitment — ridden over consecutive days, across legendary Alpine climbs, with minimal recovery and no shortcuts. I am doing it for a reason that goes well beyond the bike.

The William Wates Memorial Trust is a UK charity that supports disadvantaged young people aged 5–19 by funding grassroots organisations delivering practical, life-changing opportunities.

This resonates back to the young soldiers I trained in the Armed Forces. The Trust focuses on early intervention and youth development, providing flexible grants to charities working directly with young people facing social or economic disadvantage.

The Challenge at a glance

§  21 consecutive stages

§  3,500 km across Spain and France

§  54,450 metres of total elevation gain

§  The equivalent of climbing Mount Everest almost six times from sea level

Endurance challenges like the Grande Loop strip everything back to fundamentals: discipline, perseverance, and the ability to keep going when stopping would be easier. Those same qualities are essential to tackling the causes this ride supports. Your donation directly enables work that changes outcomes — not in theory, but in reality.

§  £50 can fund vital frontline support improving someone’s quality of life.

§  £100 can contribute to early-intervention programmes to reduce long-term harm.

§  Every £1 donated typically delivers £3–£5 of social value to these young children. 

Training for the Grande Loop requires months of structured preparation, early mornings, and sustained sacrifice. I am committing the same level of seriousness to fundraising. 

Your early donations drive visibility and participation. This ride will be hard. That is the point.

Thank you for backing the miles, the climbs, and the cause