Revealed at a special evening event at PPG Canalside on Tuesday evening, this season’s route has been inspired by the journey that Huddersfield Town Head Coach David Wagner and his assistant Christoph Buehler made just over a year ago.
Echoing David and Christoph’s route, cyclists will be asked to travel from Dortmund in Germany to Huddersfield Town to raise funds for the Keep It Up campaign, which generates funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Huddersfield Town Academy.
The journey will begin on the afternoon of Tuesday 2 May 2017, when the cyclists will depart Town’s PPG Canalside training complex on coaches heading for Hull. At approximately 7pm, they will board a ferry to Rotterdam.
Upon arrival on the following day, the coach journey will continue to Dortmund; around 160 miles in total.
Arriving at noon, the cyclists will then begin the journey home from outside Borussia Dortmund’s impressive Westfalenstadion – cycling around 45 miles to the first overnight stop of Wesel.
The second leg, on Thursday 4 May, will see cyclists cross the border into the Netherlands, with the day ending at the city of Nijmegen around 42 miles later.
Friday 5 May is the longest leg for the cyclists, spanning 88 miles across the Netherlands to Rotterdam in time for the evening ferry back to Hull.
On the morning of Saturday 6 May, the final leg sees cyclists make the return journey from Hull to Huddersfield, ending at PPG Canalside in a pie and peas celebration; around 80 miles in total.
The now traditional lap of honour will still take place at the final game of the season a day later when Wagner’s side hosts Cardiff City at the John Smith’s Stadium in a noon kick-off. Cyclists will meet up at PPG Canalside at 11am and travel to the stadium together.
The Club is looking for 120 cyclists in total, each tasked with raising a minimum of £750 for the Keep It Up campaign.
Each cyclist must pay a £250 registration fee, which will cover the cost of the ferry crossings to and from mainland Europe and the hotels on each evening.
Visit www.htafc.com to download the sign-up form and medical form.
The sign-up and medical forms, along with the £250 registration fee, must be returned to Andy Booth, either via email on andy.booth@htafc.com or hard copies to Andy Booth at PPG Canalside (509 Leeds Road, Huddersfield, HD2 1YJ). You can also drop them in at the Ticket Office at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Places on the ride will be assigned on a first come, first served basis – so don’t delay!
Club Ambassador Andy Booth commented:
“The Pedal for Pounds announcements are now one of the most anticipated dates in the calendar; I know because I get the questions!
“We always work hard to make the rides different, as we could see from the success of the ‘Shankly Tour’ last season, and I think the Wagner Way certainly fits the bill this season.
“Several fans have suggested this as a possibility since the day David and Christoph joined us in November 2015 and I’m really happy that we’ve been able to sort the organization. We’ve tried to take care of every detail to make things as easy as possible for the riders this time around.
“We expect the ride to be very popular, but it is limited to 120 riders due to the ferry bookings. As such, I’d urge anyone who is interested to complete the sign-up process as quickly as possible to avoid disappointment!
“As always, thanks to all the volunteers and staff that are volunteering their time to make the ride possible – as well as everyone who came to the launch evening at PPG Canalside.”
This season’s ride is being held in association with Made by Cooper; a local company with respected worldwide reputation for quality and design.
Based in Lion Chambers in Huddersfield, St George’s Square, the company creates enamel lapel pin badges, patches, medals, toys and much more, with a team of professional designers to help realise your ideas.
Made by Cooper ships worldwide, with about 40% of customers in the USA. It works with all types of clients, from individuals that want keepsakes for their wedding day, to international companies such as BBC, ITV, HSBC, Tate Modern, Warner Bros, and many more including the Town Foundation.
The Club’s previous Pedal for Pounds bike rides have contributed over £1 million to the total raised for the campaign since its inception in 2009.
If you want to donate some money to the ride, please visit www.justgiving.com/keepitupcampaign or text KIUP99 £5 (or any other amount) to 70070!
If you are tweeting about the ride, please use the hashtag #P4P8 and the Club’s official Twitter account, www.twitter.com/htafcdotcom, will retweet some of the best!