Bellway sponsors amateur cyclist tackling Tour de France route for charity

Bellway East Midlands has donated £100 to Duncan Carrier, who is tackling Le Grand Loop – in which amateur cyclists complete all 21 stages of the Tour de France, fully supported, one week ahead of the professionals.

Duncan, 60, is Managing Director of Carrier Landscapes, which is based in Upper Broughton near Melton Mowbray and provides landscaping work at Bellway developments across the region. The Bellway donation has helped him reach his fundraising target of £3,000.

Duncan said: “Thank you to Bellway for this great support for an amazing charity. Hopefully we can stay ahead of the Tour de France peloton.”

Le Grand Loop – the full 21 stages of the Tour de France course being completed by Duncan – is part of Le Loop, which offers cyclists a range of options from two stages to the full course. Money raised by Le Loop goes to the William Wates Memorial Trust, whose mission is to help the most disadvantaged young people keep away from a life of crime by supporting charities which engage them in sports, arts and education. The trust was set up to celebrate the life of 19-year-old William Wates, who was tragically killed when travelling in Central America in 1996.

Duncan’s challenge will start in June in Florence, where the Tour starts this year, and ends in Nice three weeks later. Duncan is to be joined for three of the stages by his son and the company’s Operations Director Wilf Carrier.

Steve Smith, Sales Director for Bellway East Midlands, said: “When we got the letter from Duncan asking for his support and outlining his intention to take on Le Grand Loop we were inspired. We are very happy that our donation has enabled him to hit his fundraising target before he goes out to Florence to start his epic journey.

“Duncan has brought to our attention the amazing work that the William Wates Memorial Trust does to give young people the opportunity to escape their disadvantaged circumstances and reach their true potential.

“Supporting charities and giving back to the community is close to our heart and being able to help out one of our contractors in his extraordinary endeavours is wonderful. We hope that Duncan achieves his dream of being able to say that he took on and completed the gruelling Tour de France route.”

To find out more about Duncan’s Le Grand Loop challenge and the charity he is supporting, visit fundraising.wwmt.org/fundraisers/duncancarrier/ride-le-loop.

Bellway East Midlands is currently building new homes across Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. For more information, visit www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/east-midlands.