Riders on Boris Bikes conquer Alpe d’Huez for charity

A group of cyclists have ridden up one of cycling’s most inconic mountains, Alpe d’Huez in the French Alps, on Boris Bikes belonging to London’s Santander Cycles bike hire scheme.

The team, put together by London-based cycle clothing company Huez*, had been aiming to complete the return journey from the British capital to the French climb, famous for its 21 hairpins, in 24 hours.

Setting off at 1am on Friday morning they just missed their target, however, due to a combination of train delays and a routine check by French police costing them time.

The ride was held to coincide with today’s Stroke Awareness Month and was undertaken on behalf of the Stroke Association and the National Brain Appeal with the support of Santander Cycles.

The ascent of Alpe d’Huez itself was completed by the 10 riders in 1 hour 40 minutes.

Lorenzo Curci, founder of Huez*, said: “It was a long but unbelievably rewarding day.  Everyone did incredibly well and we  are  really  pleased  to  have raised  all  this  money  for  the  vital  work  that  the  Stroke  Association  and  the National Brain Appeal does.

“It's a shame that a delay with the train to France and  a  stop  by  the  French  police  meant  we  complete  the  challenge quite  in  24 hours but we're still really happy with the result."

The ride, which was devised by Curci and his Huez* co-founders after a friend’s father passed away following a stroke, has so far raised nearly £18,000 towards their target of £50,000 for the charities through Virgin Money Giving.

It’s not the first time a bike from London’s hire fleet has been used to tackle one of the Tour de France’s signature climbs in this way; in 2013, Rob Holden pedalled one up Mont Ventoux, and with the help of friends managed to get it back to its docking station in south London just under 24 hours after they had picked it up.

> Video: Boris bike vs Mont Ventoux