Imagine riding the entire Tour de France route as an amateur, with half the training and none of the support. Sounds brutal, right? That’s exactly what exercise physiologist Steve Faulkner did in 2021. Each year, the Tour pushes elite riders to their physical limits. But that summer, a group of amateurs, including Faulkner, a blood cancer survivor, tackled the same gruelling 3,500km course to raise over £1 million for Cure Leukaemia.

Despite juggling full-time jobs and limited preparation, they faced pro-level demands: punishing climbs, long days in the saddle and relentless, cumulative fatigue. A study based on their ride, published to coincide with this year’s Grand Départ in Lille on Saturday last week, found that Steve and his team experienced greater relative stress than the pros. Their story is a powerful reminder of what purpose can drive us to achieve, and why training, recovery and nutrition are essential in ultra-endurance sport.

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