Tour de France à la Poole

The Mayor of Poole, Dorset, UK, and 12 riders from the Borough of Poole’s Bicycle User Group are doing something very different to raise funds for charities. On Thursday, July 6, the Mayor of Poole, Councillor Mrs Judy Butt and her team will attempt to ride stage five of this year’s Tour de France, a 225 kilometre-stage from Beauvais, North of Paris, to Caen. The ride will coincide with the main event and the cyclists aim to arrive at their destination before the race competitors cross the finishing line [otherwise they might be forced off the parcours road by French police! - ed.].

The Bicycle User Group is made up of Council Officers who regularly commute to and from work by bicycle, so a hack across France is going to be a real challenge! The Group hope to raise several thousand British Pounds for the Mayor’ three main charities which are Poole branch of Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Poole Forum and Poole Help & Care.

"This is a great and novel way to raise funds for three very worthwhile charities and keep fit and healthy at the same time," said Councillor Mrs Judy Butt. "We hope people will be generous with their support." However, she is conscious that a two-mile ride to take the children to school is a bit different to a 140 mile run across France!

Cannondale are providing a state of the art £3,500 Synapse Carbon Fibre Bike which The Mayor will be riding and Brittany Ferries with Ride Cycleworks from Poole are providing the support and backup for the team.

To sponsor the group, visit www.boroughofpoole.com.