What an amazing achievement! You can still help reach the £400k goal by visiting the World Bicycle Relief’s fundraising site. Check out the full press release below.
Today, EF Education-NIPPO rider and ultra-endurance athlete, Lachlan Morton arrived in Paris at 05:30 CEST to finish The Alt Tour, riding a remarkable 5,550 kilometers, climbing over 65,000 metres and raising £368k for World Bicycle Relief in just 18 days, in what some, including Lachlan himself, thought was near to impossible.
In a challenge inspired by the inaugural edition of 1903, Lachlan set off after the peloton to complete the 21 stages of “The Grand Boucle”, plus each and every transfer, from Brittany to Paris, enduring an extra 2,400 kilometres and 15,000 metres of climbing.
His ride along the iconic Champs-Elysee marked an emotional end to a trying two weeks. Instead of luxury hotels, tailored meal plans and on-call mechanics, it was a packdown tent, instant soup and DIY repairs for Lachlan. In this time, he suffered with painful blisters and numerous punctures, but still managed to push through every stage, most in sandals, averaging close to 300km each day, with an average riding speed of 24km/h.
On Monday morning, Lachlan set off on the final and longest stage to reach the French capital, riding through the night to cover a total distance of 579km in 19 hours.
Throughout it all, this challenge has been about more than just one athlete. The Alt Tour became a sporting spectacle that has inspired the masses to fall in love with cycling in a whole new way, and most importantly, will help provide even more young people who are challenged by the barrier of distance with the means to access an education. From the dot-watchers who joined him on the road to help keep up his morale, the fans who shared messages of support on social media, and donors who gave so generously to World Bicycle Relief, it has brought together a global community of cyclists passionate to get on their bikes and bring about change.
Lachlan’s supporters have pushed him through the Alps, across the Pyrenees and way beyond his fundraising target of £200,000 for World Bicycle Relief. Every donation helps further World Bicycle Relief’s mission of mobilising communities through the power of cycling.
