Unfortunately, a bad cold prevented me from taking up my place on the Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lakes. I was gutted as this was to be a major part of my training for the Etape.
Looking around for a comparable training ride in the UK which would be taking place before mid July I came across the Dragon Ride in South Wales happening in early June. The ride terrain is very similar to the Etape stages, and covers a gruelling 144 miles in the Brecon Beacons. In between times, I put in as much local mileage as possible.