Each team in the Tour de France has eight riders, right? Until now. Sort of. Lachlan Morton is joining the EF Education Nippo Pro Cycling team as the ninth rider, riding his Alt Tour to the Champs-Élysées. He will be riding all 21 Stages and every single transfer, unsupported, in a bid to beat the Peloton to Paris.
Lachlan Morton’s Alt Tour
Lachlan set off on this incredible solo mission on Saturday, shortly after the Peloton’s Grand Départ from Brest, Northern France. While the Tour de France cyclists will be riding 3,383 km with 42,200 m elevation, Lachlan’s Alt Tour is a 5,510 km with 65,500 m of elevation gain.
What’s more, Lachlan will be doing this entirely self-supported. No mechanic. No team bus. No team mates to shelter behind. And… no rest days. He estimates that he’ll need to put in 238 hours of riding over the 23 days in order to beat the Peloton to Paris. That’s an average of just over 10 hours in the saddle, every single day.
Why? Lachlan’s Alt Tour is in aid of World Bicycle Relief. His partners, EF Education and Rapha are donating 500 bikes to the non-profit, who deliver bicycles to people all over the world who are most in need.
Those inspired by Lachlan’s challenge and who would like to support him, can donate
to World Bicycle Relief. They will use donations to provide even more young people with
the bikes they need to access an education. With bikes, travel time is reduced, giving
students more time to learn, decreasing student absenteeism by up to 28% (Source: World Bicycle Relief).
You can follow Lachlan’s progress on this Dot Watching page hosted by Rapha.
