Box Tree chef finally out of the saddle after 2,100 miles

Simon Gueller with wife Rena (right) and daughter Zoe (left).

A leading Yorkshire chef has successfully cycled the entire route of this year’s Tour de France for charity despite riding with three broken ribs.

After three weeks of cycling, burning 95,000 calories, climbing 40,000 metres and pedalling almost 2,100 miles, Simon Gueller, of The Box Tree in Ilkley, finished the One Day Ahead challenge for Cure Leukaemia in Paris this weekend.

He was part of a small group of fundraising riders from across the country, led by ex-England star Geoff Thomas. The challenge also welcomed disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong for two full stages.

Mr Gueller, 50, said: “It has been incredible – something I’ll never forget. It was gruelling, for sure, but the sense of achievement we all experienced when we rode into Paris at the end of this journey was something else. Getting through all 21 days with the broken ribs, riding with Lance, taking on cobbles, mountains and some wild weather – it was a real assault on the senses and the body.

“But we rode well as a team, Geoff led from the front and we’ve raised thousands for charity and hopefully there’s more to come to help us fight and beat blood cancer.”