The Alt Tour - Not a Normal Tour de France

Personally, Lachlan Morton is a huge inspiration for me once I grab the bike and go out for a ride. Not only is he competitive and can win at any race he enters whether that is a road or mountain bike race, he can also ride forever, climb forever and beat records! The past few years, Rapha and EF have paired up to create The Alt Tour which is alternative races that the professionals race. These professionals are Lachlan Morton, Alex Howes, Taylor Phinney, at the time was not retired. This year however, Lachlan Morton is riding the entire Tour de France route and riding from the end of each stage to the start of the next stage. If you do not know anything about the Tour de France, which I find that hard to believe, is the largest and most followed race in all categories of cycling. The 2021 Tour de France is 21 stages, 2,121 miles and way too much climbing to put down.

Lachlan has officially beat the peloton to Paris and completely the entire route, transfers and all. This adventure was accomplished over the course of 19 days and 225 hours on his bike. With all of the stages and transfers covered, Lachlan covered 3,424 miles and over 220,000 feet of climbing. With this effort and everyone's support, he raised over $600,000 by the time he completed it. In my opinion, this is more impressive than the riders and teams racing all 21 stages of the Tour de France. It is one thing to race and be competitive but allowed to have breaks and ride to the next start, but to sleep out side, cover your own meals, be by yourself for extended amounts of time and do a majority of the ride in sandals is insane. Lachlan, I doubt you will ever read this, but you are a monster on the bike and a great human being for using your talents to raise money for those in need and push yourself.

Here are some links to other articles about Lachlan's accomplishments:

ESPN: https://www.espn.com/cycling/story/_/id/31822614/lachlan-morton-beat-tour-de-france-peloton-paris-224-blistering-hours-saddle

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/14/1015263844/a-pro-cyclist-rode-an-unofficial-solo-tour-de-france-and-beat-the-pack

NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/magazine/lachlan-morton-alt-tour-de-france.html

Outside: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/lachlan-morton-tour-de-france-route-solo-alt-tour/

Cycling News: https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lachlan-morton-suffering-became-normal-on-alt-tour-de-france/

Rouleur: https://www.rouleur.cc/blogs/the-rouleur-journal/lachlan-morton-finishes-his-alt-tour-5-days-ahead-of-the-peloton