Cyclists complete charity ride from Leeds to Nice

The cycling team travelled from Leeds Bradford Airport to Nice in a week

A team of cyclists have completed a gruelling 1,100-mile cycle ride from West Yorkshire to the south of France in aid of two charities.

Martin Mansell and Andy North set off with a team of friends from Leeds Bradford Airport's runway on 17 June to raise money for Alzheimer's Society and Candlelighters and finished in Nice early on Tuesday morning.

They were racing against Steve Dennis, who was heading to the same destination in an electric car, but taking a longer route via 21 countries.

Mr Mansell said the cyclists arrived first, narrowly beating their target of completing the journey in under seven days.

The cyclists reached Dover in two days, then journeyed from Calais to Nice, crossing the French Alps' highest pass - the Col de la Bonette - at an altitude of 8,907ft (2,715m).

They cycled into Nice to complete the challenge early on Tuesday morning

Talking about the final stretch, Mr Mansell, from Denby Dale, Kirklees, said: "We cycled all the way through the night over the Alps, it had been non-stop cycling.

"That was the hardest stretch by miles, but everyone was so psyched up and ready for it."

He continued: "It was the very last climb and the biggest - we set off at about 21:00 on Monday after we'd had something to eat and we climbed up to 9,000ft.

"It was pitch black, it was freezing, quite windy, but it was amazing."

Mr Dennis described the EV journey as "exhausting" due to problems finding charging points at the right times along the route.

The initial plan was to visit 20 countries in the EV, but the journey also passed through Monaco on the way to Nice.

The cyclists raced against an EV driven by Steve Dennis - and the riders won

Mr Dennis - who co-owns a travel agency with Mr Mansell - said at one point they only had 10% battery on the EV and had to divert by 50 miles to find a charger.

He said: "We're definitely going to go out and celebrate that we made it, the stress levels that we've been through are ridiculous."

Once they found one - at a garage in Macedonia - it was locked up and closed, but a kind staff member allowed his co-driver to charge after "feeling sorry" for them.

"That got us back to where we had to be, but if it wasn't for that woman we would have not got out of Macedonia, 100%."

The challenge - called The Beast Unleashed - has raised more than £50,000 for charity so far.

The route took them through England and the length of France, including several climbs in the Alps

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