Subscribe to L2P News London, UK. 22 June 2010
Top cyclists and sporting greats line up with the 350 cyclists riding The London-Paris 2010.
Tour de France winner Stephen Roche, Olympian Rebecca Romero, leading cycling coach Scott Sunderland, ex-England rugby captain Will Carling and ex-Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell will all be on the start line on Thursday, June 25th.
The London-Paris 2010 covers 505km in three days and is the UK’s leading cyclosportive. It was named by the Daily Telegraph as one of the world’s best mass participation events, alongside the London and New York marathons.
The ride now has a global reputation as a professional and challenging ride which attracts some of the toughest riders in cycling.
Cycling stars like Stephen Roche and Scott Sunderland are riding
Tour and Giro winner, Stephen Roche, summed up the appeal of The L2P: “The London-Paris is a great multi-stage ride and it’s the highlight of the year for me on the bike. The L2P is serious cycling and I relish the challenge.”
Rebecca Romero, who won gold in the 3km individual pursuit at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the 3km individual pursuit world title in the same year, is riding The L2P as part of her training for her switch from track to road racing.
Olympic Gold medallist Rebecca Romero
She said: "I'm constantly looking for new and exciting challenges and that's why I've decided to ride the London-Paris 2010. It's a professional endurance event and I know it's going to test me, physically and mentally.”
Former pro-cyclist and now leading coach, Scott Sunderland, is riding The L2P for the second year. He recently left Team Sky to spend more time with his young family. He said “It’ll be exciting to watch the build up to the team’s Tour de France debut while I’m riding with The L2P peloton. In my role as Ride Captain for The L2P, I’ll be passing on a few pro team tips.”
Also in the line-up for 2010 is Swedish former professional cyclist, Magnus Backstedt, who won the Paris-Roubaix in 2004 and the 19th stage of the 1998 Tour de France. Backstedt said: “London-Paris was one of few events I heard a lot about when I was a professional rider out in Europe and I have always said I would love to ride it one day. I couldn’t resist riding when the opportunity came up for 2010.”
L2P riders include experienced road riders, top club competitors and former leading sports stars who relish a challenge and the chance to stay fit. Last year, riders in The L2P raised over £100,000 for their charity partners and this year, the former England rugby captain, Will Carling, is riding to raise funds for the youth charity, Right To Play.
Carling said: “The L2P is the Six Nations of cyclosportives and it’s going to be every bit as tough and demanding as a bruising encounter at Twickenham. But I’m training hard and we’re determined to make it to Paris. If it’s tough out on the road for us, all we have to think about is the young people we’re cycling for.”
Will Carling has switched from Rugby to two wheels for the L2P
Ex-Formula 1 world champion, Nigel Mansell, is riding The L2P as a warm up for his ride across Britain next month in aid of UK Youth. The charity’s patron, HRH The Princess Royal, has sent his L2P team a good luck message. Mansell, who is president of UK Youth, said: “It’s our centenary this year so we wanted to do something challenging and inspiring and that’s where cycling came in. In July, we’re cycling 1200 miles across Britain and The L2P is the ideal preparation for our team.
“I’ve heard about The L2P’s legendary atmosphere and we thought we’d get some real inspiration from some of the great cyclists taking part.”
Former England and Crystal Palace footballer, Geoff Thomas and his ex-team mate, John Salako are riding for the Geoff Thomas Foundation which supports blood cancer patients.
Joining Team GTF is businessman, Graham Hampson Silk, who, like Thomas, survived blood cancer. Thomas said: “It’ll be a tough road to Paris but Graham and I are made of strong stuff. We know that every mile ridden by Team GTF will be helping blood cancer patients who face the same hard road that we have travelled ourselves.”
Showbiz agent, Russ Lindsay, is riding with the ICAP DebRA team which is fundraising to help people who suffer from the genetic skin condition Epidermolysis Bullosa. Patients suffer painful blisters at the slightest touch.
Russ, who was married to the late Caron Keating and whose clients include Ant & Dec, Fearne Cotton, Piers Morgan, Davina McCall, Richard & Judy, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, said: “I rode 323 miles to Paris last year with the ICAP DebRA team so know how hard the three days are. I’ll never forget the sense of achievement as the Eiffel Tower came into view.
The London-Paris, now in its 7th year, is staged by HotChillee, the global media, marketing and events company. HotChillee’s Sven Thiele said: “We roll into Paris a week before the start of the Tour de France and we expect the atmosphere in the French capital to be electric. The London-Paris 2010 will be exciting, challenging and exhausting but I know that every single cyclist will make new friends and take home a sense of sporting achievement.”
This year’s L2P partners are adidas, Science in Sport, Specialized, Cyclevox, Sigma Sport, Mavic, Ambrosia, Map My Tracks, DHL, C37 and Sportique.
The Route - 505km in three days
Thursday, June 24 - London-Calais 168km Total Ascent: 1701m
Friday, June 25th - Calais-Amiens 169km Total Ascent: 1916m
Saturday, June 26th - Amiens-Paris 168km Total Ascent: 1557km