Lawrence Dallaglio is back on his bike again and this time he is cycling the Eurovelos 5 & 8, kind of… The cycling challenge is called “The Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam” and the official website describes the endeavor as follows;

“Between April 23rd and May 18th next year  England rugby international, Lion, and World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio and England cricketing legend Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff will undertake the ride of their lives. They will cycle the 2,872 km across Europe from the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games – Olympia, in Greece – to the venue for next year’s Olympic Games – London.”

The route that Dallaglio & Andrew Flintoff we be cycling can be seen on the map above and it should look familiar to anyone who followed my own little jaunt across the continent. The first thing you will notice however is that they are cycling from south to north whereas I headed south and their journey extends as far as Olympia in Greece whereas mine ended at the harbour wall in Brindisi. Another difference is where they will cross the Alps; they look as though they will be avoiding Switzerland altogether by taking a route through Austria instead. And of course they will be stepping on it! The entire journey will be cycled in under four weeks!

I’ll be particularly interested in Stage 1 of their trip as this will be the Greek part of the Eurovelo 8 route that I hope to cycle in 2013. The Discovery Channel are listed as ‘Broadcasting Partner’ so perhaps an interesting documentary will be the result. And lots of sponsorship money for Cancer Research UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital. You can donate by following this link.

Good luck to all the cyclists taking part. It should be one hell of a journey, especially those cobbles on northern France; L’Enfer du Nord!