To say the first week of this years Tour de France has been eventful would be an understatement. Starting off with those amazing scenes at Le Grand Depart in Yorkshire, with thousands of people lining the picturesque route all the way from Leeds to Harrogate, a sea of yellow in the beautiful British sunshine. With the UKs hopes pinned on defending Champion Chris Froome and this years hot favourite Mark Cavendish, it looked like the perfect start for them and Team Sky.
But the dream of yellow ended for Cavendish only 300 metres from the finish-line in Harrogate, crashing out after colliding with Gerrans leaving Cavendish with a badly dislocated shoulder and therefore ruling him out for the rest of the tour. Stage 3, the final stage on British soil from Cambridge to London, started with Froome positioned well in 5th place overall only 2 seconds behind the race leader Nibali – so all was looking good for the defending Champion as the race headed to France. But only 5 kilometres into Stage 4, Froome crashes badly bruising his left hip and wrist, however, after receiving medical attention he continued on to reach the finish, still only 2 seconds behind Nibali but falling to 7th place.
Following X-rays Froome bravely decided to continue but with conditions far from perfect he looked tentative and after 33 kilometres he crashed again this time landing badly on his right side, however, he still persisted and carried on only to come off his bike again but this time he decided enough was enough and his Tour de France was over.
With the disappointment of losing both Cavendish and Froome, all British hopes now lie with Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates who are both doing the nation proud and the whole country has remained cycling mad and long may it continue!
So, do you have what it takes? VU Ltd launched our own grand event 4 years ago and now Cyclothon UK at Brands Hatch is a hot ticket in participitary cycling.
This years event is on track to be the best yet with close to 300 people already signed up, including our rugby legends Lee Mears, Iestyn Thomas, Alix Popham, Scott Hastings and Shaun Perry to name just a few, ready to race for the coveted Home Nations Trophy currently held by Team Dragons.
Click HERE to watch the fun from last year!
We still have spaces left, so should you wish to enter a team or even fancy challenging yourself as a solo rider, visit our website at www.cyclothonuk.com or call us on 0871 871 5300.