"Beyond my cycling imagination" - Jan Bakelants completes epic 600km ride through Sri Lanka

Despite being retired since the end of the 2022 season, former Tour de France stage winner Jan Bakelants continues to keep himself busy on the bike. His most recent escapade however, may be his most impressive feat.

"600km straight through Sri Lanka, a distance beyond my cycling imagination," writes the 37-year-old Belgian in a post on his Instagram account, accompanied by pictures of his travels across the Asian nation. "Could I really do that, did I wanted to do that? A lot of questions rose when Hugo Hemmen, Piotr Havik, Stasz Zernicke requested me to come along on this journey."

Bakelants did indeed tag along, citing the good cause of the journey as a key reason. "The reasoning why they wanted to do it was what pulled me over the line. Supporting and raising funds for the The Liv Foundation an organisation supporting students in underprivileged positions, deprived from education."

"Through committing on this journey we hoped to draw attention for and pull people over the line to make a donation for The Live Foundation," Bakelants concludes. "So now we did our part, are you ready tho do yours? Go to https://thelivfoundation.com/donate/ and donate! The Sri Lankan kids thank you."