Russells taste of Le Tour with Manchester team
July 21, 2011
The team - comprising Andrew Russell and Gareth Russell of Russells Construction, James Whittaker and Mark Whittaker of Peel Holdings, Stephen Chicken and Andrew Waugh from 53N Property Investment Group and Jon Matthews of 5plus architects – at the start in the village of Modane Valfrejus
A group of like-minded businessmen have swapped the highs and lows of the Manchester property scene for the mountains of France for a three-peak cycling challenge. Following the route of the 2011 Tour de France, the team of seven completed the notorious mountain stage through the heart of the French Alps from Modane to Alpe d’Huez. The 109km ride took in the climbs of Télégraphe (1,566m), Galibier (2,650m) and Alpe d’Huez (1,850m).
And – on the very roads the professionals of Le Tour will race when the peloton passes through this stage on July 22nd – all seven finished in between 5.5 and 7.5 hours. This is the team’s second Continental outing, following the 1,500-mile, week-long Manchester to MIPIM challenge in 2010. All have completed various charity cycle rides over the years, but have joined forces in this instance for the personal challenge.
Team member Andrew Waugh said: “We originally did the Manchester to MIPIM ride for charity and it was a great experience. This year, however, we wanted to step it up a gear with an even tougher physical challenge and there’s not much that beats the three peaks of the Etape. It took a lot of training and preparation and on the day it was incredibly hard work, but the views from the top and those downward stretches served to make the climbs well worth the effort.”
For more details of Stage 19 of the Tour de France 2011 click here
