The Tour de France 2026 - Le Loop!
This year's challenge is a revisit to 2015: to cycle all the stages of the Tour de France one week ahead of the pro teams. Granted I'll be on the road for a few hours longer each day than they will, but you get the idea. It was a tad difficult back then...the intervening 11 years won't have made things any easier!
On Saturday 27th June around 100 riders will gather in Barcelona for the 'Grand Depart'. All being well, we'll roll/struggle into Paris three weeks and 2100 miles later, having climbed the combined equivalent of Scarfell Pike, Snowdon, Ben Nevis, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro and some speed-bump called Everest!
As in 2015, the Good Cause that I'm supporting is The William Wates Memorial Trust. Their mission is to help the most disadvantaged young people keep away from a life of crime and violence and fulfil their potential. This is achieved by giving grants to charities that engage young people through the medium of sports, arts and education.
I wasn't going to ask for any sponsorship for this challenge and just pay the minimum fundraising amount myself, for two reasons:
1) If I hadn't heard of the William Wates Memorial Trust then it's a safe bet that you hadn't either and therefore I reckoned that no-one would sponsor me, and
2) You have been amazingly generous and patient people over the last few years and I am mindful not to wear out your goodwill. Or wallets, come to that...
However, I read about a school in Bradford that benefited from a WWMT grant. Thanks to The Trust, Woodside Academy now have a cycling track, fleet of bikes, bike safety and bike mechanics classes. It may not sound like much but it really has made a difference to the kids involved.
The WWMT has given money to a load of other 'good ideas', from boxing gyms to youth clubs to after-school projects in all parts of the UK. Their idea is to fund efforts that will have a legacy: for example, instead of just funding a kids' football team, the WWMT will also fund training to allow suitable kids to qualify as coaches. It's about the future as well as the here-and-now.
So that is my pitch, and here's the deal: I'll cover the minimum amount of required fundraising (and the cost of the tour, natch) and if you are able to spare a couple of quid to help then so much the better.
Some parting words of wisdom from Bernard Hinault, who won the TdF 5 times:
“An amateur should think long and hard before attempting one of these stages, two would probably necessitate a visit to a Doctor, three would require a psychiatrist – any more and you should be checking that person has written a will."
And as ever there'll be a blog for your delight at tdf2026.blogspot.com
All the best,
Simon.
