Laureus Cycling Fundraising Events

Join the Laureus Team in "Using the Power of Sport to Change the World" - upcoming events include:


LONDON TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
24-27 June 2010
Registration: £300, Minimum sponsorship: £1000

Laureus World Sport Academy members Miguel Indurain and Daley Thompson joined the Laureus team during the 2009 London to Paris bike ride - this year cycle 214 miles in 3 days through beautiful English countryside and stunning French vineyards to a celebratory finish at the Arc de Triomphe.

RIDE THE TORTOUR
19-22 August 2010
Registration: £250, Minimum sponsorship: £1250


Join one of the Laureus elite teams of 6 for this 1000km non-stop team cycling challenge. Supported by the Laureus crew you will ascend 15000m during the ride and experience the stunning Swiss countryside at its best.




For more information or to apply for either of these events contact tom.soper@laureus.com or 0207514 2799

Pedal Studio Rider Mark Chamberlin takes time out to tell us about his ride from London to Paris

Hi everyone,

Day 1 : We departed from Croydon on a clear but chilly day and the forecast for the coming days was for no rain and around 22 degrees each day. We were warned that France is not flat (like most people think) and there were plenty of hills on the first day. Within 5 minutes of the start we hit the first major hill of the day and that really spread out the field, I ended up spending most of the morning riding with "Team Patel" and a few partners from a legal firm in London. Little did I realise that I would spend the rest of the 3 days cycling with them. A huge lunch was put on for us after about 75km and we then headed off on the afternoon leg to Dover to make sure we made our 6pm ferry. Two very big hills towards the end of the day took their toll on the riders but I was fine on them. I arrived in Dover at around 15:30 in the first 20% of riders and waited there for 2.5 hours for everyone else to finish. The ferry across to Calais was a shambles and cycling in the rain, dark and freezing cold to the Holiday Inn led to 2 accidents. I was roomed with a Scottish chap - weird rooming with a stranger.

Events of the day : 3 accidents, 2 people hospitalised. One guy fell and broke his finger and another woman's brakes failed and she went through a stop street, over a busy road, into a fence and straight over the fence into the bush.
MC - no punctures, no injuries, no accidents
Distance - 149km

Day 2: An early start to what would be the hardest day of the tour. The route took us through many small villages and towns, where I was convinced there was more activity in a cemetery at night than in many of these country towns and villages. The monotony of the route took its toll, along with the heat and the field was spread out over many miles. I headed off in the lead pack shortly after lunch and had a great ride in the afternoon mostly on my own. Got into the Holiday Inn in Arras at 4pm and took it easy until dinner. Roomed with the Scot again and he was starting to irritate me.

Events of the day - no accidents, plenty of punctures etc for many riders.
MC - no punctures, injuries or accidents.
Distance - 135km
Moment of the day - walking to bed at 20:45 and seeing a rider arriving at the hotel reception. He got lost when the organisers forgot about him and they had taken all the route signs down. Shame - 12 hours in the saddle.

Day 3: Another 7:45 start on what turned out to be the best day of the trip. The morning's ride was south from Arras which took us through the old battlefields from WW1 and many memorial sites for those who died during WW1. A truly moving experience. Other sights included passing the South African and British cemetery's as well as a tree now known as the "Last Tree Standing". The ride was at a casual pace and I stopped at most of these viewing points and memorial sights. No big hills on this stage, smooth roads and mostly down wind. Stayed at some dodgy hotel in Compeigne - bought the Scot his own room as I couldn’t share with him anymore.

Distance - 139km
MC - No punctures or injuries, but I did break my chain after 28km as I climbed a small hill - as my mayday call to the roving mechanic connected, I turned around and there he was at the stop street behind me !! It was quickly sorted out and I was on my way again.
Moment of the day - standing at one of the memorial sites taking a picture of a grave of a South African soldier with an inscription saying "Known to God".

Day 4 : The easiest and shortest stage of the trip with a flat 115km ride into Paris. A lot of excitement and anticipation amongst the riders. The goal on this stage was getting to the Eiffel Tower with no injury or accident or puncture. It was fitting that I ended up cycling into the heart of Paris with my buddies that I met on Day 1 and Tiesto cranking away in my right ear. Thanks Lee for all the CD's. Armin and Tiesto kept me going on Day 2.

Distance - 115km
MC - no punctures !!!
Moment of the day - cycling in convoy around the Arc De Triumph and then down the Champs Elysses with crowds lining the streets applauding us and taking photos.

On the whole it was a tremendous experience and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a challenge.
Finally, thank you so much to everyone for sponsoring me and supporting my charity that I chose. In the end, I raised an amount of £1835 for CLIC Sargent.

London to Paris Bike Ride

Once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in a sponsored cycle from London to Paris with 5 time Tour De France winner Miguel Indurain, who will be joining on the last day of the ride. All money raised will be distributed to over 60 sports related projects that Laureus support assisting the charity with tackling a range of social issues such as social exclusion, gun and gang violence and conflict resolution. To find out more about what the foundation does go to: www.laureus.com/foundation.

Miguel Indurain accomplished one of the greatest feats in cycling when he became the first man to win the Tour de France, the world’s premier distance cycling event, five times in succession. At the time the only other cycling greats to have won the Tour five times were Jacques Anquetil, Eddie Merckx and Bernard Hinault, but none of them managed to post their wins in a row. His achievement has only ever been surpassed by Lance Armstrong.

Indurain’s extraordinary exploits made him one of Spain’s greatest sportsman; his indomitable strength and the respect he showed both his fellow competitors and fans, made him one of the most popular cyclists of all time.

Indurain, who was born in a small village in the Spanish province of Navarra, began cycling in his home region. He became a cadet cyclist under the Spanish federation in ‘78 and, as an amateur, was Spanish champion in ‘83. The following year, he turned professional, but had an inauspicious start, dropping out of the Tour in ‘85 and ‘86. However he improved year by year, eventually finishing 10th in ’90.

After his breakthrough win in ‘91, he went onto dominate the Tour over the next five years, propelling him to the position he now occupies in the annals of international cycling. In ‘94, Indurain set a world hour record of over 54 km/hr and, in ‘96 he won gold at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in the individual time trial.

He is unequivocally one of the greatest cyclists of all time and this is your chance to ride with him!

Itinerary
Day 1 – London to Portsmouth
100kms/63 miles

We meet early on Thursday morning at Mercedes-Benz World in Brooklands, Weybridge. Following a short welcome meeting, we make our way out of town along small country roads to our lunch spot in the heart of rural Surrey. We pass through the prettiest of villages, along small roads, heading up and over the North Downs, to our tea break before dinner. Accommodation is in a local hotel in Portsmouth.


Day 2 – Caen to Bernay
100kms/63 miles

We take the 7am ferry departure from Portsmouth, having breakfast on board. We arrive in the village of Ouistreham, France, near Caen, before mid-day. We head off into the French countryside with a fabulous picnic lunch just a couple of hours away. As we pass tiny hamlets, rustic farmhouses and fields of horses we end our day’s cycling in the historical town of Bernay, heralded for its medieval buildings.


Day 3 – Bernay to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris
163kms/100miles

The final morning is another early start to give time for our 100 mile day! We pass fields of sunflowers and corn and stop for refreshments in tranquil little villages along the way. The route takes us past the large town of Evreux, before once again passing through the undulating hills towards the Palace of Versailles, former home of the French Monarchy. We rest here before embarking on the last leg of the journey that will take us all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris. We celebrate our ride with dinner at a restaurant in Paris.


Day 4 – Free Day!

Make the most of all that Paris has to offer before taking the Eurostar back to St Pancras at 4pm. Travel times to other European destinations may vary.

For more information contact Tom Soper (tom.soper@laureus.com) on 0207 514 2799

Moms and Dads looking to add health to their children's summer holidays by Baz Moffat

This week the Pedal Studio will be hosting some keen Junior Rowers who are taking part in a cross - training week before school starts.

Former British Rowers Baz Moffat and Carla Ashford have set up Point2Fitness.co.uk in Putney - a personal training company. They are using their knowledge and experience of training and racing at the highest level to put the teenagers through their paces. The week combines sessions from the worlds of Rugby, Rowing, Martial Arts, Cycling and Dance to provide a thorough work out.

The group will be using the Pedal Studio to explore the world of team cycling and also use the heart rate monitors to look at pacing and working in the right zones - a challenge for the fly and die approach, typical of many keen young athletes.

Legendary rider Matt Hart from TORQ , Talks about spining.

Is “Spinning” all it’s cracked up to be?

Some mates of mine have been going to spinning classes all winter and they’re dropping me like a stone whenever we go out riding together. Are these classes any good, or is it just aerobics on bikes?

Steven Ames, Surrey.

What is “Spinning”

When we talk about “Spinning”, we have to be very careful, because rather like the incorrect use of “Hoover” as opposed to “Vacuum Cleaner”, the term Spinning is used synonymously with all studio cycle workouts, when in fact it is a registered trademark of the Schwinn Bicycle Company.

According to Schwinn, their Spinning classes are taught in over 5,000 clubs in 100 countries around the world by over 20,000 certified instructors. Schwinn claim that their indoor studio cycle workout burns an average of 500 calories per forty-minute class. This obviously depends upon the fitness level of the individual, but I would think that most Mountain Bikers could exceed this figure if they put their minds to it. Add to the Schwinn figures, those of numerous other company’s that market their own interpretation of Spinning, and you have a very popular exercise class indeed.

Johnny G, the face behind the Schwinn Spinning program, was a huge influential force when it came to me designing and structuring my own classes. I participated in one of his classes at a fitness show in Germany some years back and was amazed at his incredible ability to extract every ounce of energy from my body and push me to levels of pain and intensity that I would ordinarily only experience during a race. Although my personal studio cycling certificate was issued by Reebok, not Schwinn, my own “Cycle Reebok” classes certainly contain that element of Johnny G sadomasochism, which has been forever etched on my memory.

Who takes part?

According to Johnny G, "The Schwinn Spinning program allows people of all ages and fitness levels to take a stationary bike and transform it into a powerful workout. Indoor cycling classes allow participants to experience road cycling without all the associated dangers. The program is also a great choice for the cyclist who wants to take his/her outdoor program inside during inclement weather."

When I worked in a London health club, the attendees of my classes were incredibly varied in ability. The cycling enthusiast would bring his/her own pedals and shoes and others would simply turn up in shorts, T-shirt and trainers. Studio cycling works well with different ability levels, because no one in the class knows how much resistance another person is using. This is because the resistance level is controlled by a discreet knob, or lever, with absolutely no consistency between machines whatsoever. So, if you consider yourself at the lower end of the fitness spectrum, don’t worry, no one will know unless you tell them. In fact the ‘keeny beeny’s’ end up far more knackered than anyone else, because they are all so darn competitive.

What does a class entail exactly?

A good instructor will play with your mind and push you to your limits. After a warm-up, the instructor may proceed by making you compete in a mock three-minute time-trial. You will then sprint for the line and try to beat the guy that’s sat next to you, also stationary and also frantically whipping his/her legs around in the struggle to the tape. You will get out of the saddle and climb an Alpine pass, with Marco Pantani dancing on the pedals just ahead of you. Then you will need to catch up with him, stick on his wheel for a while and then drop him like a stone as you sprint off for the King of the Mountains jersey (easy if you’ve got a vivid imagination). On the way down the other side, the hill will be so steep that the gear you are using just isn’t big enough and your legs will be spinning at your maximal RPM. This whole imaginary trip will be built around some formal interval training drills and sections of pedalling in time to the music. Fantastic fun when you’ve learnt the moves!

Will it help with my Mountain Biking?

I don’t think you’ve been imagining it Steven, your mates have definitely benefited from their “Spinning” classes (or whatever form of studio cycling they do). Regardless of your personal situation, I feel that one class per week could pay huge dividends to your fitness. If you find it difficult to motivate yourself to cycle on weekdays during the winter, you must try a class. If you only usually cycle at weekends during the winter months, the impact on next summer’s form from two-weekday studio cycle sessions is likely to be phenomenal.

I say “do it” if the weather’s not good, otherwise get out there and ride the singletrack with your pals – you can’t beat the real thing.