An elated Lawrence Dallaglio and his team today completed their epic 3,000km Cycle Slam ride between the Six Nations rugby stadiums.
The group, whose progress we've been following via Andrew Croker's posts on the Cycling Plus blog and whom we joined for a leg of the trip, arrived at Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland at noon today.
Accompanied by sporting celebrities including ex-footballers Lee Dixon and Les Ferdinand, and former Scottish rugby players Gavin Hastings, Kenny Logan and Andy Nicol, they arrived in Edinburgh a month after their journey began at the Stade Flaminio in Rome.
As he neared Murrayfield, an elated Dallaglio posted an update on his Twitter page, saying: "The end is in sight ... 28 days and 2,888km later, we've fought through Rome all the way to Edinburgh!!! What a feeling! Thank you to all!"
The riders are now making a final push to reach their fundraising target of £1 million, to be split between Sport Relief and the newly formed Dallaglio Foundation, whose beneficiaries include Cancer Research, DebRA, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Help for Heroes and the RPA Benevolent Fund. At time of writing the total stood at £706,597.
The riders were greeted by Prince Harry when they reached Twickenham in London
Dallaglio, who set up the Foundation after the death of his mother in 2008, said: “It's fantastic to have reached the finish line. The Slam has been an epic journey and we're all elated to have reached the last stadium, Murrayfield.
"We've had fantastic support along the way with some great people joining us, including the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan and Will Greenwood. Everybody who's taken part deserves a beer tonight to celebrate. The cyclists have given so much effort and the support team has been brilliant every step of the way – I certainly couldn't have done this alone."
He continued: “We’re just short of our final target of £1m and need your help. We've done our bit, so I urge the public to do theirs and donate, and help us reach the £1m for two deserving charities, Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation. I started up the Dallaglio Foundation when my mother lost her courageous battle with cancer and it's my memories of her that kept me going through the snow, wind, rain, punctures and falls."
As for future plans, Dallaglio said he would watch tomorrow's Calcutta Cup match and then take a well-earned rest. "It feels like I've just finished playing a Six Nations tournament," he said.
Support Lawrence and his fellow cyclists in this mammoth ride by donating via www.dallagliocycleslam.com.
Dallaglio was joined by various celebrities en route, including Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff
