Latest news with #LeTour
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Friends to cycle Tour de France route in 60 days
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.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sophie joins celebrations in Scotland after Tour de France 2027 announcement
The Duchess of Edinburgh led a celebration at Edinburgh Castle after it was announced the UK will host the Grand Depart of both the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femme. The historic landmark was lit in yellow to mark the occasion, with pyrotechnics and smoke displays creating a dramatic backdrop to the official announcement that both races will be hosted in the UK. 🔥🔥🔥 You can feel the excitement of @MarkCavendish! It will be a great Grand Départ! 🔥🔥🔥 Le Grand Départ du #TDF2027 à Edimbourg sera un moment exceptionnel, c'est @MarkCavendish qui vous le dit ! — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) March 19, 2025 Tour de France general director Christian Prudhomme, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, British Cycling chief executive Jon Dutton and Tour de France star Sir Mark Cavendish were all present, alongside young cyclists, Scottish pipers and dignitaries from across England, Scotland and Wales.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scotland launches Tour de France for first time in 2027
The Scottish city of Edinburgh will host the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2027 as the world's most famous cycling race returns to Britain for the fifth time. It will be the third time the race has started in Britain after London in 2007 and Leeds in 2014, and the first time it's been launched from Scotland. Organisers also confirmed on Wednesday that the Tour de France Femmes will come to Britain in 2027, the first time both races have held stages in the same country outside of France. 🔥🔥🔥 You can feel the excitement of @MarkCavendish! It will be a great Grand Départ! 🔥🔥🔥 Le Grand Départ du #TDF2027 à Edimbourg sera un moment exceptionnel, c'est @MarkCavendish qui vous le dit ! — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) March 19, 2025 Further details on routes will be announced in the autumn, but the prospect of a stage on the cobblestones of Edinburgh's Royal Mile is a mouth-watering one. Organisers also confirmed the Tour's first three stages will be in Scotland, England and Wales. "Why Edinburgh? Because it's a magical city," the Tour's General Director Christian Prudhomme told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday. "In the Tour de France and all cycling races, what is very important is the helicopter shots. "Edinburgh and Scotland will offer a magnificent backdrop." The Tour first came to Britain in 1974 when Plymouth hosted a stage and it returned 20 years later in Dover to celebrate the opening of the Channel Tunnel. London staged the Grand Depart in 2007 and in 2014 massive crowds perched on the Yorkshire hills as the race began in brutal and spectacular fashion. "It was a wall of people, it was massive," Prudhomme said. The opening stage in 2014 ended in Harrogate where home favourite Mark Cavendish crashed badly, ruling him out of the rest of the race. Despite that disappointment, Cavendish said starting a Tour in Britain was unforgettable. "I did two British Grand Departs. The first one was my first ever Tour of France and for many years that was the greatest Grand Depart any rider of our generation could remember," sprinting great Cavendish, who won a record 35 Tour stages, told reporters. "It was four, five people deep the whole way from London to Canterbury. Then we went to Yorkshire in 2014 and that was something else, wasn't it." Last year's Tour Grand Depart took place in Florence, Italy, with the 2026 race scheduled to start in Spain in Barcelona.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bernal breaks collarbone in Clasica Jaen crash
Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has broken his collarbone during the closing stages of a race in Spain. Ineos Grenadiers said their 28-year-old rider fractured his clavicle in a crash while competing in the Clasica Jaen-Paraiso Interior, which was won by Poland's Michal Kwiatkowski. "I was feeling really strong and obviously I'm sad to have crashed, but at the same time the way I felt during the race gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep working hard - the season [ahead] is very long," Bernal said after being released from hospital. "I've felt very good in the three races that I have done, so I just have to keep working and I hope to be back soon." The crash comes 11 days after Bernal won the national individual time-trial championships in his native Colombia, his first event win since a life-threatening crash three years ago. Bernal, who won Le Tour in 2019, was left fighting for this life following a training crash on a time-trial bike near Colombia's capital Bogota in January 2022. He needed spinal surgery and other procedures after he sustained back, leg, knee and chest injuries. Ineos Grenadiers have not put a timeframe on Bernal's return.
BBC News
17-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bernal breaks collarbone in Clasica Jaen crash
Former Tour de France winner Egan Bernal has broken his collarbone during the closing stages of a race in Grenadiers said their 28-year-old rider fractured his clavicle in a crash while competing in the Clasica Jaen-Paraiso Interior, which was won by Poland's Michal Kwiatkowski."I was feeling really strong and obviously I'm sad to have crashed, but at the same time the way I felt during the race gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to keep working hard - the season [ahead] is very long," Bernal said after being released from hospital."I've felt very good in the three races that I have done, so I just have to keep working and I hope to be back soon."The crash comes 11 days after Bernal won the national individual time-trial championships in his native Colombia, his first event win since a life-threatening crash three years who won Le Tour in 2019, was left fighting for this life following a training crash on a time-trial bike near Colombia's capital Bogota in January 2022. He needed spinal surgery and other procedures after he sustained back, leg, knee and chest Grenadiers have not put a timeframe on Bernal's return.
