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Cyclists taking part in the fourth Cycle to Cannes charity ride left Greenwich under sunny skies this morning.

Forecast sleet and snow failed to materialise as 64 riders were cheered off by spectators outside the Royal Observatory.

Despite taking place amid a recession over 拢100,000 is expected to be raised for charity during the 1500km ride. Over 拢1m will have been generated since the first ride set off for Cannes in 2006.

Today鈥檚 leg will take three teams of riders to Folkestone where a Channel Tunnel train will take them to Calais ready for a 300km ride to Reims tomorrow morning.

The riders will be greeted at the MIPIM property conference by Boris Johnson at 2.45pm next Tuesday.

To support the charities and support the riders visit

Follow riders including team leaders Richard Fenne and Greg Moss on Twitter by searching for #c2c on Twitter.

Riders ready
Around 12 riders have suggested they will ride the whole route including HOK鈥檚 Barry Hunt who was one of only two riders to achieve the feat last year.

Kevin Gray, associate at Rogers Stirk Harbour, will not be riding the whole route. 鈥淎bsolutely not 鈥� I鈥檒l probably go for just over half the distance. I鈥檓 a team leader this year so I can鈥檛 just peg it.鈥�

Gray, a veteran of three rides, says one of the biggest challenges is to remember to take on enough food. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to forget to eat enough amid all the euphoria. You burn around 2,500 extra calories a day, the equivalent of three meals. There鈥檚 not enough time to eat.鈥�

This is Nick Rees鈥� first C2C. 鈥淭here is a feeling of fear as well as excitement. Training has been going well despite the weather though I did crash on an icy lane in and bruised my derriere.鈥�

Despite the training injury Rees is confident of going all the way. 鈥淚鈥檓 aiming for 100 miles a day 鈥� 600 miles in six days.

Mace鈥檚 Simon Birchall has seen it all before having done the 07 and 08 editions of the ride. He only decided to ride five weeks ago after a chance meeting in Southwark. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to do it but I bumped into Chris Horn in a caf茅 and he persuaded me.鈥�

Birchall has been catching up on his training by going on Sunday rides with his children. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been keeping me fit,鈥� he says.