logo
Friends to cycle Tour de France route in 60 days

Friends to cycle Tour de France route in 60 days

Yahoo02-06-2025

Tim Straughan (left) and Simon Vallance say they want to do something different to mark their 60th birthdays [Tim Straughan/Simon Vallance]
Two friends plan to celebrate their 60th birthdays by cycling the entire 1965 Tour de France route in 60 days.
Tim Straughan and Simon Vallance will set off from Leeds on Monday and cycle across England, through Holland and into Germany before reaching Cologne, the official start of Le Tour in 1965, the year they were born.
Advertisement
From there, the pair, who are raising money for the Sue Ryder charity, will ride across France, over the Pyrenees to Spain, into the Alps and then finally cycle north to the end of Le Tour in Paris.
Mr Vallance said he came up with the idea to cycle nearly 4,500 miles (6,000 km) as he wanted to do something "mad" to mark the year he retired and turned 60.
"It took me a year to actually think about it and mention it to people as it seemed like such a crazy idea," Mr Vallance said.
"But I looked into it and investigated the route, then realised it could be a realistic proposition.
Advertisement
"I then mentioned it to Tim and he said it sounded mad enough for him to join in as well."
Mr Straughan said he wanted to get involved because he was "always up for a challenge".
The pair will cycle nearly 4,500 miles (6,000 km) in 60 days [Tim Straughan/Simon Vallance]
He said: "I've done a lot of adventures with Simon and this looked like an amazing thing to do, as you don't normally have the time to do something like this over a couple of months.
"It gives us an opportunity to do something that is for a good cause as well."
The pair, who became friends at a running club in Leeds, have already raised more than £4,400.
Mr Vallance said they wanted to support Sue Ryder as the charity helped his father Peter when he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
Advertisement
Mr Straughan celebrated his 60th birthday last month, while Mr Vallance will mark the occasion in September.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Evenepoel wins Dauphine stage four time trial to take lead
Evenepoel wins Dauphine stage four time trial to take lead

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Evenepoel wins Dauphine stage four time trial to take lead

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel has taken the overall lead of the Criterium du Dauphine after victory in the time trial on stage 4. The reigning Olympic and world time trial champion beat nearest rival Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike by 21 seconds on the 17.4km course. Advertisement Soudal-Quick Step's Evenepoel, considered to be the world's third best rider, will be competing against rivals Tadej Pogacar and Denmark's Vingegaard at the Tour de France next month. Reigning Tour champion Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG was a surprising 49 seconds down on the day to Evenepoel in a discipline in which the Slovenian is often peerless. Pogacar trails Evenepoel by 38 seconds in the general classification, with Vingegaard 16 seconds down in fifth place. Germany's Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is second in the GC, four seconds down. "I'm very happy with this victory - the thousandth for the team," said Evenepoel after completing the course in his special Olympic gold helmet. "This one is for Patrick [Lefevere, former boss] - for everything he did for the team. Advertisement "I think in terms of [my] weight, it's already pretty good - much better than last year - I've been working super hard behind the scenes." The race, which takes place across the Dauphine region of south-east France, is the traditional warm-up for the Tour. Only four times in the last 10 editions has the overall winner gone on to be victorious in the Tour. Spaniard Ivan Romeo of Movistar lost the yellow jersey after victory on stage three, finishing one min 25 secs down to Evenepoel. The eight-day stage race moves on to Saint Priest on Thursday for a hilly 183km test to Macon. Saturday's stage is likely to see the most explosive action with three hugely steep hors category climbs in the French Alps to Valmeinier. Advertisement Stage four results 1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) 20mins 51secs 2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +21secs 3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) +38secs 4. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +49secs 5. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +57secs 6. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +1mins 2secs 7. Remi Cavagna (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +1min 7secs 8. Eddie Dunbar (Irl/Jayco-AlUla) +1min 10secs 9. Tobias Foss (Nor/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 10secs 10. Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +1min 12secs General classification after stage four 1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) 14hrs 31mins 8secs Advertisement 2. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) +4secs 3. Ivan Romeo (Spa/Movistar) +9secs 4. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +14secs 5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +16secs 6. Eddie Dunbar (Irl/Jayco-AlUla) +30secs 7. Harold Tejada (Col/XDS Astana) Same time 8. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +38secs 9. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) +39secs 10. Louis Barre (Fra/Intermarche-Wanty) +1min 3secs

Staff discover 'suspicious substance' at hospital
Staff discover 'suspicious substance' at hospital

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Staff discover 'suspicious substance' at hospital

Emergency services are working to identify a "suspicious substance" discovered by staff at a hospital in Leeds. West Yorkshire Police said specialist officers were sent to Leeds General Infirmary just after 11:00 BST after staff found the substance in a small package. A force spokesperson confirmed it had been contained on site and said there was not thought to be a wider risk to the public at present. No injuries have been reported. The trust which runs the hospital has been contacted for comment. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store