Prolgue Report : Calais to St Omer (50km)

Greetings from St Omer at the end of our opening "prologue stage" - a quick 50kms in under 2 hours down from Calais passed without too much incident under a warm sun and with a brisk easterly wind, (Monty's chain fell off, Jon got a puncture on a very Belgian section of "pave"). There was, however, more excitement earlier in the day, when one of the party was found to be passport-less (no names in case the authorities are tuning in!). So we're off for a pizza now, and let's see what tomorrow's long ride down to Peronne brings....... early signs today of form from Chris C and Chris M, with Tim also showing prominently at the head of the peloton. But there is a very long way to go. Over and out for now. A

Welcome to our Blog - 2 days to go!

It's late on Friday evening in the Mentzendorff office and I've realised that there's no turning back now. Rebecca Morrison has masterminded all the logistics behind the trip and Bill Page will once again be behind the steering wheel of our support van which the 8 riders will be following as we begin our long trek south from Calais to the very centre of France on Sunday evening...... Beaune currently seems a very long way away............... the riders have all been training in isolation and so we have very little idea of relative fitness levels and "form"........... although we suspect that Chris Matthews (Team BBR) may now be up to professional standard (he's been very quiet) and Hannah Wiggins was looking frighteningly fit at the London Wine Fair! All will shortly be revealed on the roads of Northern France but we will need to work together as a team if we are to attain our goals. Standby for further updates................... Andrew