Advance International and a team of 14 riders including Carter Retail Equipment and Sky Recruitment, have successfully completed an epic 280 miles cycle trip from Lyon to Monaco.

The purpose of the trip was to fundraise for Aquabox, who provide aid boxes containing emergency essentials such as a water filter, survival bags and humanitarian aid to countries such Nepal, Malawi and Syria. The charity runs solely on public donations and operates with a skeleton team of volunteers from Wirksworth, Derbyshire. In June 2016, the charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services, the highest possible accolade for their charity work.

Criss-crossing through the Alps, the Lyon to Monaco route took in a number of the greatest cycling roads in the world. At point’s, the team reached altitudes of over 2,000m with gruelling, endless climbs at a 7% incline. The group consisted of a mixed ability of riders including novices and more seasoned cyclists, however even the most experienced riders were put to the test. Supported by cycle travel company, La Fuga, the camaraderie, sportsmanship and support amongst the group helped many to conquer the punishing mountains before finishing amongst the glitz and glamour of Monaco.

Lyon to Monaco concludes a four part charity cycling series that began with Coast to Coast in 2013, London to Paris in 2014, Paris to Lyon in 2015 and now Lyon to Monaco. Over the course of the previous three year’s and many miles, Advance has raised to date in excess of £30,000 for various charities.

Simon Deacon, Managing Director at Advance said: ‘Completing the Lyon to Monaco challenge is a massive personal achievement for all the team, especially considering some had only started riding at the start of the year – their determination shows what a fantastic team we have at Advance and amongst our clients. I would like to personally thank everyone that has donated so far and urge those that are yet to do so to donate whatever they can.’

So far the team has raised an incredible £8,000 for Aquabox and have their sights firmly set on achieving a £10,000 donation to Aquabox. To help us achieve this target please donate whatever you can via our Justgiving page.

To view the images from the event please visit our Flickr page.