Young Warwick cyclist completes gruelling Tour De France climb stage to raise money for Leamington club and cancer charity

A young Warwick cyclist has raised hundreds of pounds for two good causes by following in the tyre tracks of the world’s most famous cyclists and completing a gruelling climb section which is part of the the Tour De France race route.

Nine-year-old Alby Rahman cycled the 15km Alpe D Huez section of the famous race, which features a steep climb of 1,143 metres, in support of Peddlamaniacs Cycling Club – based at Newbold Comyn – of which he is a member and the Warwickshire charity Cyclists Fighting Cancer.

Alby decided to attempt the feat after seeing videos of cyclists riding up the 15km section, which includes a climb of 1,143 metres with an average gradient of eight per cent and 22 switchbacks (sharp turns).

His aim was to raise £350 for Peddlamaniacs to buy new coaching equipment for the club.

But he smashed this goal quickly and raised just over £600 so the remaining money went to Cyclists Fighting Cancer.

Alby’s mother Dawn said: “We'd planned a trip for a week of cycling in Italy over the Easter Break, so with a few tweaks to our route we were able to come back via the Alps in our camper van and tackle the climb together as a family.

“Alby did lots of training for the event including his usual ride to school, lots of hill repeats and some tough indoor sessions on a turbo trainer.

"We were lucky to have really good weather on the day, in fact it was so warm we had to strip layers off after about half an hour of riding.”

His father Riaz added: “"We were a bit nervous about whether it was too big a challenge for Alby, especially as he'd just ridden over 100 miles in Italy in the week leading up to it.

“But we needn't have worried as by letting him take it at his own pace and stopping for snacks along the way he had no problems at all getting up to the top.”

To find out more about Peddlamaniacs, visit https://www.peddlamaniacs.com/