Jaywing MD faces uphill struggle for cancer charity
Our very own MD Adrian Lingard is taking on an incredible challenge next week, cycling ‘La Marmotte’. On 2nd July, Adrian and two other Jaywingers will attempt four of the hardest mountain climbs of the Tour de France to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
This will be Adrian’s third, and toughest, cycling challenge to date. La Marmotte is one of the most strenuous cycling events in the world, with each of the hills “hors categorie” (beyond classification) on the Tour de France’s difficulty scale. With 42 of the 108 mile stretch uphill, they’ll cover over 5,180 metres of vertical height over the entire course.
Adrian and the rest of the team will set off along with the 7,000 other participants, on the opening day of the world’s greatest cycling event. If everything goes to plan, they hope to complete the stage in around 14 hours. Recently dogged by an injury that threatened to take him out of the race, Adrian says, “I cannot promise to finish, but we will make a very brave attempt. The whole point here is that it's hard enough for professional cyclists, never mind regular blokes on bikes.”
There is more than just a personal sense of achievement motivating the team to complete this amazing challenge. They have all been touched by cancer through friends and family. “As well as the personal drive we all have for riding up these daft hills, we do hope we can ease the pain for future generations in some small way so their lives are not cut dramatically short like so many others,” says Adrian.
To date, the team are more than halfway to their fundraising target of £2,000. Any donations to Adrian’s JustGiving page will be much appreciated.