Cycle Slam gets tough
- By Jack Preston -
- May 01, 2012
It’s day nine of the 2012 Cycle Slam, sponsored by Virgin Media, and things are starting to get difficult for Lawrence Dallaglio, Freddie Flintoff and the rest of the team. Yesterday’s ‘light’ 130km ride from Bari to Foggia is today being followed up with longest day of the entire event – a 183km slog.
To make matters worse the distance, which is the equivalent of cycling from London to Birmingham, will be tackled in temperatures approaching 30 degrees and on a varying road surface, with the riders having to contend with loose rocks, cracked tarmac and even a fair amount of roadkill.
With the ride taking its toll some competitors have gone all confessional on Twitter in recent days, with Flintoff declaring: “My body wasn't designed for cricket and definitely wasn't for cycling! I have come to the conclusion i was built for darts!”
The field may only be on stage two of the journey but they’ve already clocked up some impressive figures with the 70 active riders so far completing 1,983 km, climbing 84,825 meters, burning 67,379 calories and picking up 14 punctures.
To show your support for the team and donate to their charity fund head on over to the Cycle Slam website, where you can also follow their progress on live tracking.
Images courtesy of Rob Cox Photography
By Jack Preston. Content Executive. Tweets at @JackPressedOn
