Team members Hugh and Rory, having finished their exams, decided to embark on a gruelling 4-day training session in the harsh conditions of the Ionian island Zakynthos, exactly one month ahead of the big start date (17th July).
Daytime temperatures in Zakynthos soared to 40 degrees centigrade, and the mountainous terrain looked set to provide ideal conditions for some serious training, replicating some of the challenges that will be faced by the team in southern Spain and Morocco during the hottest months of the year.
Unfortunately, however, they were unable to locate a bike rental shop and so could not tackle the mountains on two wheels. Disconsolate, Hugh and Rory instead hired cars as a means of getting around. They had to satisfy their fitness obsessions with light swimming, base tan preparation, carb and protein loading, tennis, and football (watching).
Upon arrival back in the UK, team member Pemberton was asked for his thoughts on the training camp:
'Whilst it was obviously disappointing that we couldn't manage to hire bikes, we prepared for the Cambridge to Casablanca ride in other ways. For instance, we practised eating local food such as fried squid and fried cheese, and one lunch I even had a small 'kebab' (a Greek meat dish) as a starter, and a larger one as a main course - foreign food is something we'll have to get used to in France, Spain, and Morocco; apparently they don't even have chips in France - they have different things called 'French Fries'. The Spanish are famous for their afternoon 'siestas'; so this was something we also practised in Greece. Morocco, too, is comprised mainly of sand, so to prepare for this we put in some hard sessions lying on a beach - I can tell you, it was pretty tough at first, but you get used to it.'
Watch Hugh and Rory's training video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K21Xhk7_m6c
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