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Halfords helps cycle slam over the line

After 22 days of cycling, 2,872km and a staggering 896 punctures, sporting legends Lawrence Dallaglio and Freddie Flintoff crossed the finish line of their epic Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 at London’s Westfield Stratford City last week, alongside more than 200 of their fellow stage riders who have all helped to raise over £1.7million for charity.

Cycling support

Pitch is the retained agency for Halfords’ cycling business and initiated Halfords’ involvement with the Cycle Slam as Official Cycling Partner last September.

Halfords supplied Freddie, Lawrence and the 13 core riders with range-topping Boardman Performance Series Team Carbon road bikes and a dedicated team of Halfords mechanics hand-picked from stores across the UK provided tireless mechanical support throughout the event.

From Olympia to the Olympics

The charity ride began from Olympia, the ancient birthplace of the Olympic Games in Greece on the 23rd April 2012. Cycling the length of Italy, the route took in the Ascoli Piceno to Perugia, and the Appennini Mountains, one of the largest mountain ranges in Italy, and the white chalk roads and rolling hills of the Strada Bianche.

The team then took on the towering Swiss Alps climbing out of the town of St. Mortiz and over the Albulapass at 2,315m, before passing along the southern shores of Lakes Walensee and Zurich.

The stage saw the riders faced with the famous Paris-Roubaix cobbles in France, alias the ‘Hell of the North’, a 153km journey over cobbled farm tracks and streets from St.Quentin to Roubaix, a bone-shaking route covered by many iconic bike races over the years before returning to England.

Millions of metres climbed, calories burned and pounds raised

In total, the riders climbed over 1,472,316m and a combined total of over 4,408,904 calories burned across the 22 day cycle.

Lawrence Dallaglio said:  “I can’t tell you how amazing this challenge has been. I’ve spent 11 hours on a bike for 22 days. We’ve climbed up some of the most iconic mountains in cycling and tackled the cobbles of Roubaix which is where they finish the famous pro race ‘Paris  Roubaix.’

“It has been a real physical and mental challenge for us all, and I cannot begin to thank everyone enough for the support and encouragement over the past 22 days.  Thanks to the help and support of everyone here and the public, we are really close to hitting our fundraising target, so all the pain has been hugely worthwhile.”

The Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 will also be televised in a two part documentary produced by Discovery the official broadcast partner due to air this July.

Further Reading