Dallaglio Cycle Slam aims to raise £1m for sport charities

Lawrence Dallaglio isn't a name you'd normally associate with cycling, but the former England rugby captain is saddling up for a 2,800km charity expedition this February, and dragging a hoard of celebrities and an army of volunteers along for the ride. As you might expect, there's a big rugby influence on the route.

The Dallaglio Cycle Slam starts in Rome and winds its way up through Europe, taking in all of the six nations stadia along the way and finishing in Edinburgh on 13 March. The route is split up into five stages of between 400 and 700km, and Lawrence will be riding them all at an average of 100km a day, no mean feat for a big lad. On each stage he'll be joined by a stage team of sponsored riders and celebrities, and the aim is to raise £1m for charity over the course of the event. The money will be split between Sport Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation, a charitable trust which supports Cancer Research UK, Help for Heroes, the RPA Benevolent Fund, Leukaemia Research and DebRA.

Chances are it's pretty hard to say no to Lawrence Dallaglio, which would explain why there are so many stars lining up to take part. There's a big rugby presence of course, with Jonathan Davies, Keith Wood, Zinzan Brooke, Kenny Logan, Raphael Ibanez, Will Greenwood and Gavin Hastings all joining in for sections of the ride. Footballers Les Ferdinand and Lee Dixon, commentator John Inverdale, chef Tom Aikens, presenter Ben Shephard and newshound Dermot Murnaghan are also taking part.

It's too late to get a berth on the ride, but it's not too late to show your support by pledging some cash: head over to www.dallagliocycleslam.com and you can sponsor a rider, or a kilometre of the route