Millar joins Dallaglio in Girona for charity ride warm-up

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Lawrence Dallaglio will ride from Rome to Edinburgh next February to raise money for charity.(Image credit: AFP)

Rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio will lead a group of riders from Rome to Edinburgh during next year’s Six Nations Rugby championship, with the goal of raising £1 million (approximately USD1.65 million) for Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation charities.

The rugby player’s bulk made the climb even more difficult. Carrying a significant amount of extra muscle, he reached the top in 65 minutes. The record is currently held by Irish climber Dan Martin, who has done it in 28 minutes 45 seconds, while Millar did it in 30 mins 15 seconds. For Dallaglio however the trip is not about speed, but perseverance; reaching Edinburgh, and the fundraising target.

“We’ve split it up into six legs. Myself and one or two others will cycle the whole way but we’ll have 50 people flying in to do each leg. [Former international soccer players] Lee Dixon and Les Ferdinand are doing Leg One [Rome to Nice]. [Former international cricketers] Ian Botham, Michael Vaughan and [Olympic rower] James Cracknell are also talking about doing a leg and we’ve got support from each of the countries’ [rugby players].”

Kimmage will be writing about it for the Sunday Times. “I’m probably taking on a bit more than I chew, but that will certainly concentrate the mind,” he told Cyclingnews recently. “I hadn’t been doing very much before that but I was asked a few weeks ago to do this by the paper. As you might imagine, that has focussed my mind to get in shape again, given me the motivation to get out on the bike on cold mornings.”