Olympia, Greece – Olympic Village, London…..On a bike!!
Well that’s the challenge Lawrence Dallaglio and Andrew Flintoff set themselves one day last summer. So with 14 other ‘core riders’ completing the whole 2872km challenge and up to 75 sponsored riders joining them for each of the 5 stages they set off from ancient Olympia in Greece on the 23rd April 2012 with a goal of raising £2,012,000 for charity (and to have some fun on the way!)
Fit4-Physio joined the medical team arranged by David Roberts Physiotherapy for the first two stages (Olympia – Bari, Itlay and Bari – Sienna, Italy). It was certainly an interesting (and busy!) 2 weeks. Fresh legs soon became tired legs (and backs/knees/necks) after day one which was a 176km gentle introduction into life on the slam! This ensured the physio and medical team were busy from day one. A fantastic route planned and managed by www.alpe.cc was as beautiful as it was tough as it wound its way along the east coast of mainland Greece and through Eastern Italy, across Unbria and into Tuscany.
Injury wise, there was lots of soft tissue work to be done – legs, backs and shoulders taking the brunt of the ride. A number of patella-femoral joint (knee-cap) pain cases and a couple of heavy crashes but thankfully we managed to keep almost everyone on their bikes to conquer this epic challenge.
As i write, the ride continues with stage 4 heading from Switzerland into France. Charitable donations to this amazing effort can be given via the website www.dallaglioflintoff2012.com
Fit4-Physio wishes Lawrence, Fred and all the other riders all the very best of luck in completing this challenge.
