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Mills on Wheels

his September Dave Mills, Iglu's Head of Commercial, will be attempting the Conquer the Alps Cycling Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The Conquer the Alps Cycling Challenge takes place from the 15th - 19th September and involves three days of climbs made famous by the Tour de France, including the gruelling 21 bends to Alpe d'Huez. The event involves over 100km of riding per day and will take Dave from Bonneville to Bourg d'Oisans.

I asked Dave how he feels about the challenge, and after reading Lance Armstrong's Tour France tweets he was feeling positive, "I'm 99% terrified and 1% excited, but this could well be the other way round by the time it comes around..."

I've compiled a day-to-day guide of the epic ride, and we'll be keeping up-to-date with Dave once he's on his bike.

Day 1: London to Geneva

Luckily this part of the journey involves a flight to Geneva followed by a transfer to the French town of Bonneville, where the cyclists will stay overnight. Knowing what he has in front of him we'll let him off for not cycling to the start point.

Day 2: The Cycling Begins

The first challenge for Millsy will be the 60 miles from Bonneville to Albertville via the Col de Aravis and the Col Saisies. The first climb from Bonneville involves a 1km rise in altitude and a steady ride up to the 1487m summit of the relatively gentle Col de Aravis. After the first serious descent Dave will be taking on the Col des Saisies, which tops out at 1650m before the long sweeping descent into Albertville where he will spend the second night.

Day 3: Time to Burn

After the first, and a relatively easy day of cycling, the 64 mile route from Albertville to Valloire is going to burn. Heading out of Albertville the first climb of the day is the 25km ride to the Col de la Madeline, after this warm up the descent to La Chambre will be a welcome one.

The afternoon stretch of this journey involves taking on the Col de Telegraph, the 12km climb is shorter but steeper, gaining nearly 900m in height. After the most difficult of these two challenging climbs, it's down to Valloire to rest and recover from the second day's burn.

Day 4: Round the Bend

The route from Valloire to Alpe d'Huez will take Dave via the Col du Glabier. This section of the ride is full of hair-pin bends through the stunning mountains and passes the monument to Henri des Granges, the founder of the Tour de France.

The final climb is the most famous of them all, and possibly the most gruelling in the Alps, the 21 bend to Alpe d'Huez! The ride to the peak is the pinnacle of the challenge, and the bend after bend of cycling to the top is rewarded by the adrenaline fuelled ride back down to Bourg d'Oisans.

Day 5: Homeward Bound

After three days, and 315km on his saddle Dave will make his way home. Hopefully his leg's wont seize up and he'll make it onto the flight home from Geneva having completing this feat, and raising money for a good cause.

This challenge is pretty full on and so far Dave has four months of training behind him, the Iglu team will be supporting him the whole way, and if you would like to support him visit his Just Giving page. Dave is hoping to raise £2000 for Macmillan Cancer Support and will be grateful for every donation.