3136km, in 18 days with no rest days - how hard can it be?
Willta a España
Having cycled the 1968 Tour de France route in 2018 to celebrate my 50th birthday and raise nearly £100k for charity we are back - this time attempting the 1968 Tour of Spain - the Veulta A España.
The ‘68 TdF at 4651km and 56,125 metres of climbing over 24 days compares with '68 Veulta course of 3136km and 30,228 metres of climbing over 18 days but with no rest days so a different sort of challenge.
We will actually be doing a few more Km than the riders back in 1968 as stage 15 was cut short when ETA blew up the road and the stage was abandoned!
Willta a Espana BBC & Tour de Will ITV Interviews
The Challenge
In the 1968 Vuelta 90 riders started but only 72 finished. We have a core of four riders all in our 50s:
Jerry Scagell and Simon Abrahams who are veterans of the TdW and joined by new boy Neil Jones who did a number of stages of the TdW and wants to do the whole thing this time.
People (including former Professional riders) question if we can complete this sort of distance in the same number of days without any rest days, the benefit of a peloton and amusingly observe we won’t have any of the “supplements” prevalent in the 60s. All I will say is that it will take a great deal to stop us.
sports therapist, masseur and bike fitter
The Support
Keeping bodies and more specifically our legs going will be Scott Cornish, an experienced sports therapist, masseur and bike fitter BodyandBikeWorks.com based out of Chamonix. Scott is an endurance cyclist himself, so knows all about the pains and aches we will endure. He worked his magic on us in the TdW and he is on board again this time.
Thanks Scott!!
The Charities
We are supporting three charities with a focus on causes that have impacted mine and many other families.
Click the images below to learn more.
'With the funds raised from Tour de Will in 2018, we were able to part-fund an exciting study looking at the effects of Carmaseal on people with Duchenne. It used to be the case that children and young people with Duchenne would die from respiratory failure. This is now better managed by steroid use and heart failure is now the primary cause of death in the Duchenne community. Carmaseal is showing positive results in improving heart function and reducing fibrosis in the heart and lung cells. Phase II clinical trials are currently underway and we hope that it will continue to see good results. It's an exciting potential treatment that could help all those with Duchenne. Thank you to Will and his team mates for not only completing their amazing challenge in 2018, but for getting back on their bikes this Summer to help us continue our Duchenne research programme. Good luck to you all!'
-Alex Smith, Founder and CEO of Harrison's Fund