‘It’s going to be incredible’: Elton cyclist to take on the Tour de France route for charity

An amateur cyclist and “keen endurance athlete” is preparing to take on the famed Tour de France course at the end of June to raise money for charity.

Dan McDonald, from Elton, will ride the entire 3,404km route one week ahead of the professionals as part of a 25-strong group called The Tour 21 team.

This dedicated collective of amateur cyclists is hoping to raise over £1 million for Cure Leukaemia, a UK nationwide charity connecting patients and children with blood cancer to potentially life-saving treatment options.

“It was a thrill, a real privilege to have been chosen to participate”, Dan said.

The 46-year-old told the Peterborough Telegraph how The Team 21 hopes to help Cure Leukaemia: “We’re looking to raise £1m pounds between the 25 people - that equates to £30,000 each.”

“This will fund 12 specialist research nurses across the UK and a research programme which will support both patients and children with new drugs to help them beat this disease.”

The determined father-of-two has been training for the event for almost a year, cramming in mammoth cycling sessions, both on his bicycle and on a smart bike, to help him prepare for the event.

Even for a man who has recently completed five out of six of the world’s major marathons though, he is reticent about what the gruelling, 21-stage event has in store for him:.

“It’s going to be six-to-eight hours per day – consecutive days as well – covering an average of 120 to 130 miles per day,” he said, adding: “also you’ve got the hills and the mountains to contend with.”

Dan noted that, because there are “very little hills around Peterborough,” he’s had to “venture out to Rutland and Leicestershire to really get the full elevation” training he needs to be ready for the mountain stages of the energy-sapping course.

Starting in Bilbao in northern Spain on June 24, The Tour 21 team – which will be led by former England international footballer and blood cancer survivor Geoff Thomas – will follow the exact same route the professional riders will take on a week later.

Over the following three weeks, Dan and his fellow riders will ride over 3,500km, crossing the Pyrenees and traversing France (and the Alps) before finally crossing the finish line at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on July 16.

Dan’s wife Jess, their two teenagers Carys and Eleanor, and his parents will all be there, cheering him on as he edges over the line.

The recruitment company owner is anticipating the moment with relish: “It’s going to be incredible,” he added,” the elation of all the training [and all] the commitment.”

But the real win, Dan notes, will be knowing he and the team will have contributed to moving cancer research forward and, ultimately, helped save patients’ lives.

“Seeing the team cross that line together knowing that we’ve raised – all being equal – over a million pounds that’s going to be put to very good use is going to be fantastic,” he said.

So what will the endurance athlete tackle next?

“A well-earned holiday,” he added, laughing.

Anybody who would like to contribute to Dan’s fundraising efforts can make a donation at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/danielthetour21