Mike Tindall will abandon
his grueling charity bike ride due to a wedding commitment on the final day of
the challenge.
On last Wednesday’s episode
of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby which he co-hosts with James
Haskell and Alex Payne, Mike opened up about the upcoming adventure and
confessed: “I, fortunately, get the last day off as I have to be back for
a wedding.”
Poking fun at the pro
sportsman, his fellow presenters quipped: “So you’re going to have to go
doubly fast then, in order to get it done in five days?”
The Queen’s grandson-in-law
shot down the suggestion, saying: “No, I’m just going to get a taxi from
wherever I finish it,” to which James and Alex both chimed:
“That is cheating!”
The dad-of-three has embarked
on a 770 km-long charity bike ride in aid of Parkinson’s. The feat which kicked
off on Monday will see the rugby star and his fellow 21 teammates cycling from
Lake Geneva to Nice in a remarkable six days. “We’ve got over 3,000 metres
of climbing pretty much every day, which is nearly two miles
vertically,” Mike revealed.
In a bid to keep his fans
updated with his Raid Alpine challenge, Mike has been treating his Instagram
followers to regular video snippets and team photos. Yesterday, the amateur
cyclist shared a carousel of eye-opening snaps including a picture of two of
his teammates dunking their heads into a refreshing water fountain.
To commemorate the achievement,
he captioned the post: “Day 2 – Horrible climb in the Col de Prez, but the
team stuck with it and got through it. Bring on day 3.” Mike’s fans
rushed to the comments section in praise of his adventurous feat, with one
writing: “Brilliant effort Mike & team,” whilst another
penned: “Fantastic effort, well done.”
The cause is close to Mike’s
heart after his beloved father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003.
Since his heart-breaking diagnosis, the former member of the England squad has
worked tirelessly to help fund research for Cure Parkinson’s.
Speaking from the heart, he
said: “My dad has had Parkinson’s for 20 years. You know, it’s been a
tough road for him, especially in the last ten years and it’s been great to put
that funding into research.”
