Sporting Legends Line-Up for L2P
Source: Hot Chillee
Posted: 18th June 2009
Above: James Cracknell (left) and Scott Sunderland (right) are but two of the sporting stars set to ride the '09 event
Sporting legends head the line-up for this year's London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour, which starts on Thursday, June 25th.Riders include Stephen Roche, an ex-Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner and former world champion, double Olympic gold medallist, James Cracknell and former England footballer, Geoff Thomas.
Among the 300 riders for 2009 are:
- Double Olympic gold medallist, James Cracknell
- Double Olympic bronze rowing medallist, Elise Laverick
- Leukaemia survivor and former England footballer, Geoff Thomas and his Crystal Palace team mate, John Salako
- British Cycling's Team Sky manager and former pro-cyclist, Scott Sunderland, who helped mastermind Carlos Sastre's victory in the 2008 Tour de France
- Former British road champion, Brian Smith
The London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour is the closest the amateur rider can get to the Tour de France experience, with rolling road closures and full logistical support. The event, known as the "professional event for amateur riders", covers 520km in three days.
The event's lead charity partner for 2009 is the Geoff Thomas Foundation, which campaigns for improved treatment for leukaemia patients. Stephen Roche's eight year old son, Florian, is recovering from the illness.
Roche said: "You read about other people's stories and picture the trauma but when you live it from the inside it's totally different and it gives you a different take on life. You ask ‘why him? Why not me?
"One day he was sick with a sore head. The doctors sent us home and told us there was nothing wrong. When it happened again, we asked for a blood test and the doctors called in a specialist, who informed us it was acute leukaemia."
Double Olympic champion, James Cracknell is an L2P veteran and this year is riding the first leg from London to Dover as part of his training schedule. He said: "Riding London-Paris last year was a fantastic experience. I was riding in the peloton and riding with top class riders such as Stephen Roche was as close as I'll ever get to feeling like a professional cyclist. The camaraderie was terrific and I'm really looking forward to riding in the event next week."
Geoff Thomas (pictured to the left of cycling legend Stephen Roche), who has twice ridden the Tour de France route and has raised around £1 million for leukaemia research, said: "We are so grateful to the London-Paris team for selecting us as a partner for 2009. I rode the event last year and it was a fantastic experience. It's tough in places but I just get my head down and think about the people who are dying unnecessarily from blood cancer. The GTF is working to get new treatments to patients and we know if we can achieve our goal, lives will be saved."
Eurosport commentator, David Harmon and Jeremy Hastings, contributor to cult cycling website 'thewashingmachinepost', are attempting to complete London-Paris on fixed gear bikes. On these machines there are no breaks from effort, only one gear and no coasting because the pedals just keep turning.
Harmon said: "It's madness. One of those crazy moments between friends when we decided to go for L2P on just one fixed gear. To be honest, the biggest challenge is selecting the right sprocket. Not too big to stop the climbing but big enough on the flat to get the gear rolling. There'll be no rest periods for us at all on fixed gear bikes. Roll on Paris."
The cycle business is fielding a strong contingent. Riders include, Pete Slater, founder of sports nutrition company Science In Sport, Sigma Sport's Ian Whittingham and Guy and William Pearson from Pearson Cycles.
This year's Ride Captains, who'll be riding Specialized bikes and wearing Specialized helmets, include Olympian Emma Davies and David Kirkby, Valad's European head of funds management. The other seven ride captains are Rachel Przybylski, Peta McSharry, Dan Braid, Mark Murphy, Will Watt, David Barnaville and Alice Monger-Godfrey.
The London-Paris Cycle Tour 09 has attracted a host of international riders. Among them are 21 women and riders from blue-chip companies including, DHL, adidas, Coutts, Wembley Stadium and BNP Paribas.
Sven Thiele from HotChillee, the global events company which stages L2P, said: "The 2009 London-Paris Cycle Tour is poised to be the most exciting yet. We have an excellent field of riders headed by the inspirational Stephen Roche. The ride will be a test of endurance and challenge the toughest of cyclists."
The London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour runs from June 25 - 28 and is sponsored by tier one sponsors adidas, Science in Sport, Subaru, Specialized, Sportique, Vitaminwater, Sigma Sport and British Cycling.
This year's event will have four partners, the Geoff Thomas Foundation, youth education charity Christel House, Schools for Children of Cambodia and South Africa's Morning Star, which works with children with HIV. The London-Paris riders raised £51,462 in 2008.
