The Tour de France is the worlds’ biggest and most prestigious cycling event. Unfortunately, it became one of the casualties of the mass culling of the sporting calendar as it was delayed until later in the year due to Covid-19.
However, one Kiwi has sought to complete his own version of the mammoth twenty-one stage race – in his living room. Scotty Bensley, aged 26, was inspired after seeing others completing mammoth challenges at home.
The native New Zealander, who now lives in New York, looked back over the 2019 route and realised that he would have to cycle over 3000 kilometres. However, he ploughed on with his challenge and completed it on April 28th.
Scotty’s commitment is remarkable with the New Zealand website Stuff reporting that he would often cycle late in the afternoon after working from home for a full day. As well as having to purchase an exercise bike in the first place, he also snapped up an infamous yellow jersey.
He hasn’t understated the difficulties of his endeavour telling Stuff that ‘some days have been an uphill battle.’ He also added that ‘my ass doesn’t exist anymore.’ Yikes.
Whilst lockdown has been a troubling time for some, it has allowed for many to undertake tasks that they would never have imagined doing. Scotty has shown an admirable resolve to complete this gruelling challenge.
Don’t fancy cycling? Here’s another way to stay productive during lockdown that requires far less movement.
Featured Image Credit – Wikimedia
