Riding high for Littleborough NSPCC

Jim Kennedy on the gruelling ride from Pau to Hautacam

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On Sunday (6 July) a Littleborough man made the most of a birthday trip to the Pyrenees from his wife by completing one of the toughest stages of the Tour De France.

50-year old Jim Kennedy is a keen cyclist who’s wife, Carole is on the committee for the Littleborough branch of the NSPCC, and to celebrate his 50th birthday last December, she bought him a holiday to the Pyrenees.

As a keen cyclist, Jim decided he could raise money for the NSPCC by cycling stage ten of the Tour De France, which climbs from Pau–Lourdes, to a mountain finish at Hautacam.

The route is 156km (90.9 miles) in length and includes two third category climbs at Côte de Benejacq and Loucrup, and the out of category ascent of the Col Du Tourmalet, which is 17.7km at a 7.5% gradient.

Jim said: “It was much harder than I ever envisaged it to be, the weather was quite bad, but I was happy to get to the finish."

Jim finished the stage in around eight and three quarter hours and he stayed within the time limit.

Jim trained for eight hours a week in order to be able to complete the event.

The official figures are yet to be released, but Jim estimates that he has risen around £1300 to £1400 for the NSPCC.