Last year, Phil Deeker, founder of Rapha Travel’s Cent Cols Challenge, set out to ride 1,000 mountains in 100 days – the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest 50 times.
The Cent Cols Challenge (CCC) is the brainchild of endurance rider Phil Deeker. His determination, commitment to riding and will to explore has created one of the ultimate tests of what is possible on a road bike. 2017 marked a significant anniversary for the Cent Cols story with the passing of ten years of the Challenge. To celebrate both the milestone and his 60th birthday, Phil challenged himself to complete the “Ride of a Thousand Cols” – ten CCCs ridden back-to-back.
Phil started in Corsica in May and after a long summer of riding he scaled the 1,000th climb in Cantabrico on Wednesday, 4th October. In riding a thousand cols, he averaged 200km and 5,000m of climbing every day, totalling almost 20,000km and 500,000m of elevation. The numbers barely do justice to the feat. This accomplishment is made all the more impressive considering Phil meticulously masterminded, planned and led each and every stage of the ten CCCs, sharing his passion and knowledge with over 200 riders in the process. It was a remarkable way to celebrate his 60th birthday.
“It’s a way of touching something that’s greater than us, in our own lives. When you experience that on your own, that’s one thing. But when you experience with a group, it’s a fantastic sense of connection.”
“At the end, when I see the riders with such big smiles on their faces, hugging each other, knowing that at times they were able to smile even when the suffering was so tough... that’s what the Cent Cols is about.”
_____
Client Rapha
Producer Jack Hussey
Director Too Soon Too Late
D.O.P Sander van den Broucke
Offline & Online Edit Joris Willems
Grading Xavier Dockx
Voice Phil Deeker
Sound Klankwerk
Producer Jack Hussey
Director Too Soon Too Late
D.O.P Sander van den Broucke
Offline & Online Edit Joris Willems
Grading Xavier Dockx
Voice Phil Deeker
Sound Klankwerk
