Towy ace takes on world’s toughest cycle challenge (From South Wales Guardian)

Towy ace takes on world’s toughest cycle challenge

10:21am Friday 13th July 2012 in Sport

TOWY Valley cycle king Matthew Page has embarked on a gruelling journey to tackle some of the toughest races in the world, - all within the space of a few weeks.

The former postman from Cilycwm, now a professional rider with Team Wiggle, was in France at the weekend to take part in La Marmotte, one of the most punishing single-day road events in the world.

La Marmotte saw Llandovery-born Page, aged 27, covering more than 100 miles and enduring climbs totalling 5,000m, including the famous Alpine passes of Galibier and Alpe d’Huez.

The extreme challenge takes up to 14 hours to complete, but Page came in within eight hours in 56th place..

Sunday saw the champion endurance racer come 39th in L’Etape du Tour –a stage from the Tour de France - alongside almost 9,000 cyclists from around the world.

The 100-mile event saw Page complete more than 4,500m of climbing within the French Alps.

Page is one of just a handful of pro racers completing the staggering double- header.

After a fewdays rest, the former Llandovery College pupil will head to the Pyrenees for a second L’Etape du Tour.

The infamous Circle of Death route takes in every major climb within the Pyrenees.

Then, on July 20, Page and his mountain bike head to Italy for the Iron Bike event, said to be the toughest stage race in the world.

The event will see Page cover 700km, including 27,000 metres of climbing, over seven days.

The awe-inspiring schedule will see Page enter the record books as the first ever cyclist to attempt all the events inside a month.