A star-studded Dallaglio Cycle Slam team reached the home of Welsh rugby as they continued their fundraising ride across Europe.

DFP – MPU – Promo – Centre

Ashes heroes Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan joined Lawrence Dallaglio’s team for the fourth stage of the 2,800km cycle and arrived this afternoon at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The cycle began in Rome on Friday 12th February and continues over the course of a month finishing in Edinburgh on 12th March. The team will cycle through all of the RBS 6 Nations countries, taking in each of the international rugby stadia along the way. The aim is to raise at least £1million, the net proceeds of which will be split equally between Sport Relief and the newly formed Dallaglio Foundation, whose beneficiaries include Cancer Research, DebRA, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Help for Heroes and the RPA Benevolent Fund.

Lawrence Dallaglio, founder of the Dallaglio Foundation, said: “It has been a fantastic journey so far. We’ve done nearly 2,000km so we don’t have long to go.

“Having Freddie Flintoff on board has really helped keep the spirits high. He’s a fantastic guy to have around and it is great to see him enjoying himself and keeping everyone entertained. Michael Vaughan is very sharp and quick-witted and the fact so many people have come out to take part in this challenging cycle shows just how important the causes are so I urge people to go online and support us.”

Andrew Flintoff, who played 79 Test matches for England, said: “I am delighted to be able to take part in such a great event, Lawrence and all the cyclists have done so well in what has been a very challenging test. I’ve played in a fair few Tests myself and I thought they went on a long time. But a five-day match is very different to a whole month cycling across Europe. The Dallaglio Foundation and Sport Relief both do a lot of fantastic work so it is definitely worthwhile going online to donate.”

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and said: “I am thrilled to be involved in this. I have only done the one day but it was fantastic to arrive at the Millennium Stadium. The whole group is doing an amazing thing for the charities. And while a lot of the higher profile cyclists are getting credit, everyone involved is working very hard and deserves applause.”

The Millennium Stadium is the fourth RBS 6 Nation stadium the Slam has visited, the 2,800km cycle is split into five stages, each of which will pass through an RBS 6 Nations country. They started cycling from the Stadio Flaminio in Italy and have visited the Stade de France and Twickenham. The team visit Dublin’s Croke Park on Saturday before heading to Murrayfield in time to watch England and Scotland fight it out over the Calcutta Cup on 13th March.

This challenge is the latest in a long line of projects that the Dallaglio Foundation has been working towards in its inaugural year. Launched following the passing of Lawrence’s mother Eileen, who lost her courageous battle with cancer in December 2008, the Dallaglio Foundation has already helped to raise over £600,000 for Cancer Research UK through its prestigious charity party, 8Rocks, which took place in November.

Visit: http://www.dallagliocycleslam.com/home for more information about this epic ride and to sponsor Lawrence and the other riders