A kind-hearted cyclist from West Lothian has completed the 2,000-mile Tour de France route to raise an astonishing £891,000 for charity.
Architect Keith Vance, 46, from West Calder, was one of a weary team of 18 to coast down the Champs Elysees having come through 40C heat, broken bones, crashes, punctures and illnesses. The gruelling annual endurance challenge sees amateur bike riders tackle the whole route just one week ahead of the professionals in aid of Cure Leukaemia.
Keith and the rest of the squad - which includes Crystal Palace footballer and cancer survivor Geoff Thomas - endured energy-sapping mountain climbs on the 21-stage odyssey. One of Keith's fellow riders, Glaswegian Allan Dickson who joined the event after his daughter was diagnosed with cancer, had to drop out following a positive Covid test.
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Gutted Allan said on social media: "Wasn’t the way we’d planned the finish of this epic adventure. Not something we really have any control over. However, we did manage 14 stages, 2,388km & 97,880 ft vertical elevation on some of the most iconic TDF mountains including The Galibier & Alpe d’Huez.
"Thank You, thank you, thank you to everyone who took the time to follow our journey, for all the love & very generous donations you’ve given to date."
But those who were able to keep going, along with reserves, arrived in Paris three weeks after setting off from Copenhagen to rapturous applause from friends and family. The Scots have raised more than £40,000 between them for the cancer charity after completing the arduous mission.
The equipe was spurred on during its journey by an army of celebrity supporters including cyclists Pfeiffer Georgi and Bradley Wiggins - and were hailed by Cure Leukaemia chief executive James McLaughlin after reaching the finish line. He said: "What the last three weeks have shown is the unique sense of team spirit, camaraderie, dedication and the bravery needed to take on all 21 stages of the Tour de France is something pretty unique.
"Every single one of the team and crew should be immensely proud. This is without a doubt, one of the toughest sporting challenges in the world and for them to experience this, is something that they will never forget.
"On behalf of Cure Leukaemia, I am so proud of every single one of them. What they have done is put their bodies on the line for others and for that, we are eternally grateful.”
The 2022 Tour de France route takes riders through Belgium and Switzerland, and across mountains in the Alps, Pyrenees and Vosges ranges. In total, the riders covered nearly three and a half times the length of Lands End to John O’Groats, and rode up 47,800 metres of hills - equivalent to the height of 10,800 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.
In all the Tour 21 team hopes to raise at least £1 million overall to support the charity's Trials Acceleration Programme, which supports fast-tracking pioneering new clinical trials at 12 hospitals across the UK, including the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow.
James added: “It is easily fair to say that this team and the backup crew are effectively lifesavers, because what they are doing, they are ultimately helping to save peoples lives and changing the way that blood cancer is treated now and in the future.”
The Tour 21 JustGiving page can be found here - and anyone who thinks they could give the route a go in 2023 can enquire on the challenge's website.
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