Bristol trio take on Tour de France charity bike ride

Ben Cannel (pictured right) said the team had a positive vibe at the start of the Festive 500 Audax event

Three friends are preparing to ride the entirety of the 2023 Tour de France route to raise money for charity.

Ben Cannell, 34, Sean Belgium, 32, and Rory Mansfield, 35, from Bristol, will start cycling on 11 July, aiming to arrive in Paris on 2 August.

They hope to match the time frame professional riders achieve on the famous road race, which itself starts 10 days earlier on 1 July.

They are supporting PROPS, which helps adults with learning disabilities.

Mr Cannell said their training will build strength and stamina but it would also be about "just getting your body used to being stuck in that position on the bike".

Mr Cannell said they have been practicing whenever they can

"You have to do as much [preparation] as you can. But we love it so it's okay," he said.

He said they are riding as "much as possible, whether that's commuting or evening rides or weekend rides", all alongside their day jobs.

Mr Mansfield (pictured left) said they shared an emotional moment after riding £450km of Festive 500 Audax

Mr Mansfield says the tour is "the most challenging cycling event that happens each year".

"This year, the professionals' race is 3,404km (2,115 miles) and there are 55,000 vertical elevation metres (180,446 feet) in the route," he said.

Unlike the official race, which involves cyclists being driven to the next stage of the race each day, the trio are completing the challenge without support so will also need to cycle between stages.

It means they will cycle 200km (124 miles) each day with nearly 3,000m (9,842 feet) of climbing.

Mr Belgium (pictured right) said they have even been practising on their mountain bikes during snowy conditions in Wales

Konna Beeson, from PROPS, said it was "amazing" to have their support.

"We're hoping to build a much bigger high street café on Fishponds Road this year, which is where all the donations the boys are raising will go," he said.

The men begin their journey on 9 July when they travel to Bilbao, Spain.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]