London-Paris Announces new "Classic" Route for 2008
London, UK
22 October 2007
Following a hugely successful 2007 event which saw over 170 riders complete the gruelling 600km parcours in 3 days, the London-Paris Cycle Tour is set to offer new challenges to entrants in 2008
Inspired by the presence of legendary ‘hard man of the cobbles’ Sean Kelly throughout the 2007 event and buoyed by the visit of multi-classics champion Johan Museeuw, the London-Paris Cycle Tour 2008 will, for the first time in its history, swing north to visit the famous ‘pave’ of the Paris-Roubaix race, before plunging down to end in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe.
Day 1 takes a new 200km route away from the Hampton Court through Kent, ‘the Garden of England’, arriving at Dover for the end of day ferry crossing to Calais. There will be no bed of roses in this garden however as riders tackle the short sharp ascents of Capel le Surn and Goudhurst Hill, the latter being familiar to race fans as a King of the Mountains climb in this year’s Tour de France.
Day 2 provides a massive 230km route that will test the mettle of every rider as the event as it swings north east toward the famous cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, cycling’s ‘Hell of the North’. Wheel and tyre choice will be crucial on sections like Mont Casel, a 2.5km cobbled uphill and the challenging, rolling roads of the Collines l’Artois before arrival at Amiens.
Day 3 leaves Amiens and winds south to Paris covering 170km in the true spirit of the Tour de France, rolling into the capital and arriving at the Arc de Triomphe, a fitting spot at which to end the challenge of the 2008 London-Paris Cycle Tour.
“We thought we’d throw a few new elements into the mix this year,” commented event planner Matt Taylor, “day 2 is without doubt not only the highlight of the 2008 Tour but the hardest single day we’ve ever planned. It’ll be fascinating to see what happens!”
The London-Paris Cycle Tour 2008 is open to individuals and teams and will take place from the 26-29th June 2008.
Anthony Burnett-Scott top fundraiser again
London, UK
10th October 2007
Team Ashurst’s star rider and charity money raiser Anthony Burnett-Scott has once again taken the coveted jersey of top fund raiser of the 2007 edition of the London Paris Cycle Tour.
Anthony added to the £3325 he raised in 2006 with a spectacular £9295 in 2007 for the charitable organisations supported by The London-Paris Cycle Tour; Christel House, Schools for Children of Cambodia and The Morning Star Children’s Centre. This year the ride from Hampton Court Palace to the Palace at Versailles raised a staggering £50,000 for underprivileged children.
“We are enormously grateful to the organizers and riders of L2P and especially to Anthony for including the children of Christel House among the beneficiaries of the ride.” said Christel de Haan, founder of the Christel House charity “Riding is a testament to physical conditioning, mental toughness and sheer determination. On behalf of over 2600 children and their families around the world, I salute you!”
Later this year Anthony will fly to South Africa along with event co-founder Moira Finneberg to present a donation at a star studded charity evening and the top two wheeled fund raiser is thrilled at the prospect of chasing another fundraisers jersey:
“It’s the only jersey I’m likely to win! It’s an absolute pleasure and a great thrill to raise so much and to be part of such a great event, you can bet that I’ll be in the hunt again next year!”
Anthony joins the 3 existing jersey winners in this, the ‘Professional Event for Amateurs”. Former GB triathlete Anthony Shippard gained the green COR-FS Sprinter’s Jersey title to add to his overall win in 2005, whilst former Elite rider Michael Blann became the first rider to take a hat-trick of jerseys when he took the red Bircham Dyson Bell Climber’s Jersey once again. The overall title and Egg Design Leader’s Jersey went, for a second year, to Australian, former Rabobank Espoir rider, Jerone Walters.
The London-Paris Cycle tour is 3 day, 600km event in the spirit of the Grand Tours. In 2008 the route will venture through northern France capturing some of the spirit of the single day classics before ending once again in the nation’s capital.
SIS Becomes sponsor for London-Paris on eve of Event!
London-Paris Cycle Tour is pleased to announce that Science in Sport has come on board as a last minute sponsor providingadditional GO isotonic and PSP22 carbohydrate drinks for the riders.
London-Paris Cycle Tour unveils teams for 2007
London, UK
17 May 2007
The 4th edition of the London-Paris Cycle Tour, which begins from Hampton Court on 28th June, has unveiled the first teams in its new team format. The ‘Professional Event for Amateurs’ will feature teams of 4 riders for the first time in its history, entered by corporate sponsors, and just like professional teams will ride in team kit with full L2P back-up.
“This is a totally new concept for the London-Paris,” commented event founder Sven Thiele, “we have worked really hard to give this ride the feel and quality of a professional stage race and teams are integral part of creating that feel.”
The team to watch will be Team IBC, led by overall event winner in 2006, Jerone Walters. The team, backed by independent travel experts IBC, will also include the winner of the 2006 mountains classification, Michael Blann, former Great Britain hockey star Chris Bloor and Anthony ‘The Locomotive’ Schroeder.
Team IBC won’t have it all their own way however as they will face stiff competition from Team Lend Lease fielding former GB triathlete Anthony Shippard and Elite Mountain Biker Richard Vail.
Investments giants The Tudor Group has 2 teams taking part in this years event and their two-fold presence in the London-Paris peloton throws up the fascinating prospect of rival teams facing a ‘double whammy’.
The sole mixed team in the event will be Team Trainsmart, led by fitness expert Mark Clarke and riders Mark Sinclair, Antonia de Barton Watson and Rachel Przybylski, all of whom will be riding their first London-Paris Cycle Tour.
Last year’s winner of the Fundraisers Jersey, Anthony Burnett-Scott will lead his fellow lawyers, and L2P rookie Team Ashurst squad of Simon Beddow, Alexander Cox and Paul Miller on the road to Paris.
But all teams will be watching the pedal strokes of Team Museeuw-Onimpex whose riders David Harmon, Richard Hallett and Ken Jones will be supporting multiple Classics winner and former World Road Champion, Johan Museeuw in his first appearance at this most friendly of endurance events
.
Full details of all teams, sponsors and riders can be found at:
www.londres-paris.com/L2P/modules/theteams
Johan Museeuw to ride London-Paris 2007
London, UK
9 March 2007
Multiple classics winner and former World Champion, Johan Museeuw will join over two hundred other riders on this year’s London-Paris Cycle Tour taking place in advance of the 2007 Tour de France.
Nicknamed the ‘Lion of Flanders’, Museeuw was a three times winner of both the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix races during his career becoming the dominant spring classics rider of his generation. He was also a two times winner of the World Cup but his finest moment was out sprinting Italian Mauro Gianetti to take the World Road Race Championship in 1996 in Lugano, Italy.
Now running a blossoming bike manufacturing concern the Lion has been keeping himself in shape since his retirement 2 years ago and will join the King of the Classics, Irishman Sean Kelly and his Eurosport commentary colleague David Harmon on the road to Paris.
“We were bowled over when Johan expressed an interest in riding,” says Tour organizer Sven Thiele, “Johan and Sean are dream additions to the event and Johan’s understanding of the concept and his instant support of our chosen charities was quite overwhelming. I’m thrilled.”
Museeuw Bikes will also be donating specially prepared children’s bicycles to The London-Paris supported Charities; Christel House, Schools for Children of Cambodia and Morning Star Children’s Centre.
“Johan Museeuw is one of the all time greats in cycling and it will be a huge honour to ride alongside him and Sean into Paris, it’s certainly the nearest I’ll get to riding with the greats!” said David Harmon. “The whole concept of the Tour is terrific and it really shows when cycling legends want to come along for the ride.”
The 2007 London-Paris Cycle Tour starts with a 150km stage from Hampton Court to Portsmouth on 28th June, followed by an overnight transfer to St Malo. The following two days stages will cover 450km of undulating terrain into Paris, arriving at Versailles on June 30th. The tour is known for being sociable, where international riders can mix and ride the demanding 600km’s with full support and rolling road closures. It is the “professional event for amateurs”.
This year, for the first time, the organizers have incorporated the concept of teams and the battle will be on to secure the services of King Kelly and the Lion of Flanders!
More information on the London-Paris Cycle Tour 2007 is available at www.londres-paris.com and at www.museeuwbikes.be
'Ride the Volcano' Cyclosportif launched by London-Paris Cycle Tour and Nexus Inmobilarias
London, UK and Tenerife, Spain
31 January 2007
The London-Paris Cycle Tour (L2P) and Nexus Inmobilarias today announced a very special cyclosportif, “Ride the Volcano”, to take place in Tenerife on 11th February 2007.
The ride honours Sean Kelly, one of the greatest Classics riders ever, who will be in Tenerife courtesy of L2P’s exclusive 2007 training camp.
“Ride the Volcano” is named after the largest mountain in Spain, Mount Teide on Tenerife, some 3,700 meters in height, the perfect backdrop for some serious training.
The sportif forms an unique part of the training camp by creating a day where L2P shares with local cyclists the privilege of riding with a true cycling legend in return for a nominal donation to L2P’s charity of choice, Christel House.
Charitable aims notwithstanding, “Ride the Volcano” couples rolling road closures, provided by the Policia Local and Guardia Civil, with 2,400 metres of hard climbing over 111 km.
Also riding on the day will be David Harmon, Eurosport Commentator, Jerone Walters, “EGG Leaders Jersey” L2P 2006, Michael Blann “Bircham Dyson Bell Climbers Jersey”, L2P 2005/6 and Sven Thiele, Founder and Chairman of the London-Paris Cycle Tour.
Sean Kelly commented:
“I am deeply touched to be taking part in ‘Ride the Volcano’, which is being held in my honour - I have a long and pleasant association with Spain and I am particularly happy to have the opportunity to cycle the beautiful northern region of Tenerife. Providing such an event for Northern Europeans during our cold winter months as part of a training camp can only be motivating for the impending summer and London-Paris Cycle Tour in late June. I intend to make full use of the climbing miles and share a hard day in the saddle with local riders.”
Sven Thiele added:
“The cold winter months can prove quite demanding. The camp is a great way to build endurance and strength, meet fellow riders, as well as riding in a brilliant sportif with the local Spanish riders. The support we have received in providing rolling road closures, services and sponsors has been magnificent. ‘Ride the Volcano’ should make this camp a very memorable experience.”
Juan Marrero, President of the Federacion Insular De Ciclismo de Tenerife, said:
“It is a great honour that London – Paris Cycle Tour and Sean Kelly have chosen our island to host their winter training camp. As fans of cycling, it is a great pleasure for us to welcome a previous winner of the Vuelta a España, the most prestigious race in our event calendar. We extend every hospitality and look forward to sharing a day’s cycling with one of our sport’s elite riders’’.
A spokesperson for the Ayuntamiento del Puerto del Puerto de la Cruz added, “We are pleased to have been able to make available the facilities necessary to host Sean Kelly and the London-Paris cycle tour for a day that promises to be both enjoyable for all our cycling enthusiasts, as well as to highlight the ideal conditions that exist here for cycle training and preparation.’’
‘Ride the Volcano’ riders will set off from the premises of one of its corporate sponsors, Club Tarahal, Calle Aceviño, La Paz, Puerto de la Cruz, at 08h30 on 11th February.
Sean Kelly, David Harmon, the L2P riders and event sponsors Nexus Inmobilarias will be handing out T-shirts and signing autographs from 08h00. Serious riders who wish to take part are required to register at Club Tarahal from 07h30 on 11th February, and to produce a ‘cycling card’ to enter.
Jerry Graber of Club Tarahal said, “Club Tarahal is pleased to supply accommodation to L2P in return for a generous donation to our mutual charity of choice, Christel House; it is a great pleasure when two organisations’ commercial agendas coincide in such a beneficial way”.
Francisco Valero, Managing Director of corporate sponsor Nexus Inmobilarias, commented “We are pleased to have a hand in assisting the cycling community of Tenerife to enjoy a days riding with someone of the stature of Sean Kelly – that the day ultimately benefits charity as well can only be a plus for all concerned – and our hope is that sufficient interest will be shown to enable us to convince L2P to repeat this event in 2008!”
About the London-Paris Cycle Tour
The London-Paris Cycle Tour is a professional endurance event for amateurs. The cyclosportif is 600km in length over three days and takes place from the 28 June – 1 July 2007. It is styled on the Tour de France, has full support and rolling road closures, and is the closest most amateurs will get to riding like a pro. The event hosts riders from all over the world is known for its sociable nature, where Olympic athletes, ex-professionals and amateurs mix.
www.londres-paris.com
email: moira@londres-paris.com
Tel: +44 7710 236 140
About Christel House
The mission of Christel House is to help children around the world break the cycle of poverty and become self-sufficient, contributing members of society. Currently there are Christel House facilities in Mexico, India, Venezuela, South Africa, Serbia and the USA.
www.christelhouse.org
email: elizabeth.taylor6@btinternet.com
Tel :+44 1858 535 453
About Nexus Inmobilarias
One of Tenerife’s leading and innovative estate agencies with offices in the north and south of the island, and Corporate Sponsor of “Ride the Volcano”, will be handing out T-shirts and organising an autograph-signing session before the start of the ride at Club Tarahal from 08h00 to 08h30 on Sunday 11th February 2007.
www.nexusprop.eu
email: franciscov@nexusprop.eu
Tel: 636 650748
About Club Tarahal
An impressive 41-apartment holiday resort situated in La Paz, Puerto de la Cruz within walking distance of the Botanical Gardens. Club Tarahal is proud to be associated with “Ride the Volcano” and is providing accommodation for all invited riders and their back-up teams. As part of its commitment to the Christel House charity, Club Tarahal is donating all monies received from accommodation to Christel House.
www.nexusleisure.com
email: conchiv@nexusleisure.com
Tel: 922 37 62 35