Sean Cody set out on an incredible journey to complete the Tour de Force recently and we have his full diary now published here.

“As some of you know, I signed up at the end of last year to do the Tour de Force, a charity staging of the full Tour de France route, starting and finishing 1 week ahead of the professionals, and matching them stage for stage, climb for climb. At the time I wasn’t really sure what I’d let myself in for, but I finished the route in Paris yesterday, July 14th, and I think I can honestly say that it was possibly the most extraordinary experience I’ve ever had on a bike – a combination of the best days and worst days I think I can remember, with enough memories to last a lifetime.

The ride was organised to benefit the William Wates Memorial Trust, and has been running for a few years now – this year, there were 40 riders doing the full route (known as lifers), and some 100 extra riders dipping in and out for various stages ranging from 2 to 10 days, covering windows across the entire 3 weeks. The organisation was impeccable, the riding brilliant and the company a complete laugh – what follows is some sort of attempt to distill three weeks of cycling into a relatively digestible story…”