A total of 120 riders set off yesterday on the 2013 edition of the Trois Etapes cycling pro-am tour in the French Alps.
The event, which features 15 charity teams, has already raised more than £2 million for good causes in the last year.
15 pro riders are racing this year, including Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre, former Garmin-Sharp riders Andreas Klier and Daniel Lloyd, World Champion Evelyn Stevens, Team MTN Qhubeka’s Songezo Jim, Gent–Wevelgem winner Lars Michaelsen, Round The World cyclist Mark Beaumont, Paracycling World Champion Colin Lynch and Madison-Gensis riders Joan Horrach and Liam Holohan.
The pro riders mentor the amateurs in a unique pairing: the Trois Etapes is designed to give riders the chance to experience team cycling under race conditions, with the full support that a pro would have in a Grand Tour. It teaches tactical team riding, as each team of 8 riders (7 amateurs and 1 pro) has its own team car and Directeur Sportif. Every rider has a radio link with their team car and the Race Director.
The event isn’t a sportive – instead, it pits the teams of amateurs against each other on some of the toughest climbs the Alps has to offer over four days, and all in aid of charity.
Here’s a video that shows how it works:
Trois Etapes 2013 from Cosaveli on Vimeo.
Last year’s event raised $1.7 million for charity partners making it the largest pro-am charity cycling event of its kind. Charities supported this year include The Anne Frank Trust, Prostate Cancer UK and Walking with the Wounded, together with Right to Play, World Bicycle Relief and the dZi Foundation.
The event is being filmed by Channel 4 and British Eurosport.
To find out more about the race, click here.
the irony of a 4x4 suv driver complaining about less than perfect tarmac
Any piece of "journalism" that includes the phrase "lycra clad/lout" or "as a cyclist myself" within the headline or opening paragraph can...
The thing is, motorists' killing grounds are not limited to schools, hospitals and nurseries and their environs.
Highway Code rule 237 If you are dazzled by bright sunlight, slow down and if necessary, stop.
'Suitable advice' can already be found in the Highway Code.
Im betting these come out of the same factory as the SG and the Grip grab gloves. Identical apart from the Silicon overlay....
Oh, and for long rides (100 miles ish) a whole pack of fig rolls and a couple of jam sandwiches normally does my fuelling.
That "old lane" as you call it, is 1) very much open, some misguided cyclists still use it. I used it once, vowed never to again and I block ride...
Indeed....
"Aldi apologised for the blocked bike racks and said "we have spoken with the store to make sure that the cycle bays are clear for use at all times...