Ken pedals his way to £7k in Tour de France challenge

AN amateur cyclist from Livingston has raised more than £7000 for charity after taking part in the world-renowned Etape du Tour along with 11 of his colleagues.

Ken Ord, 41, took part in the gruelling challenge, which sees thousands of amateur cyclists taking on a stage of the iconic Tour de France route, just days behind the professionals.

The team, who work at Sky, completed the Issoire to Saint Flour stage of the route in the Auvergne region, one of the toughest sections of the Tour de France.

Each cyclist who completed the course clocked up a total of 130 miles across the mountainous terrain.

The route was made even more challenging this year by some of the worst weather conditions in the Etape’s history.

Mr Ord, a security specialist at Sky’s Livingston centre, had to abandon the race at 66km due to the extreme weather and after suffering the onset of hypothermia, but supported his team mates through the race.

He said: “Despite not finishing, there’s nothing like the Etape for the experience of riding with so many other cyclists – it really is brilliant.”