A WEB developer is hitting the road in an ambitious bid to cycle the first 195km of the Grand Depart Classic in one day.

John Corner is set to ride the whole of the first road stage of the 2018 Tour de France the week before the professionals, to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

Taking place in the Vendée region of western France on June 23, the Grand Depart Classic starts in The Passage du Gois, one of the rare road paths to be entirely covered by the sea at high tide.

Twelve hours are allocated to the stage which starts at 7am.

Mr Corner, 48, of Stokesley has already raised double his initial £1,000 fundraising target but admits he has not cycled such long distances in one go since he was 20-years-old.

He said: “Everyone I have approached has been so generous, and the fundraising has already smashed my expectations.

“I am currently the third highest fundraiser out of all of the 250 cyclists taking part in the event and on track for a custom cycling jersey in the spirit of the Tour de France, but don’t think I will get the yellow jersey!

“Training is tough, I have lost a stone in weight since November and have a fitness trainer and specialist 16-week cycling training schedule developed specifically for the event, a long way to go as I have never done that distance in a day.

“I didn’t even do 195km in the whole of last year up to Christmas!”

James Beeby, director of fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “It’s fantastic to see that John has decided to enter the event to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK.

“Prostate cancer is something that cannot be ignored and by doing this he is joining the fight and helping to make a difference.

“Currently one man dies every 45 minutes from prostate cancer in the UK.

“That’s 11,000 men a year. Based on current trends, if we ignore prostate cancer and do nothing, this number will rise to over 14,500 men a year by 2026.

“And by 2030 it’s predicted to be the most common cancer overall.”