Dallalgio’s Cam Slam

Ex-England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio was spotted in town today as he promoted a charity cycle ride he’s doing next year.

The sportsman, also an ambassador for Greene King, went to The Eagle pub on Benet Street to meet fans and launch the pub group’s support of his 2,800 km ‘Dallaglio Cycle Slam’.

Dallaglio is cycling from Rome to Edinburgh to raise money for Sports Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation.

The trip, beginning on February 14, will take 24 days.

The trip is split into legs of around 700km. Teams of cyclists will join Dallaglio and the other 6 core cyclists for a leg, one of which will be completed with the Greene King team pictured with Dallaglio below.

The rugby player, who played for the Wasps for 20 years, was apprehensive about the 140 km-a-day struggle in the bitter cold.

He told The Tab, “I’m definitely not built for cycling. The lighter you are the better you are at going up hills.”

Dallaglio is definitely not a light chap.

The promotional life-sized cut-out in the pub was, however, as revealed when a couple of male fans made off with it successfully.

Dallaglio was reserved about his predictions for this year’s Varsity rugby match.

“It’s too close to call,” he said.

He did add, though, that the team with a point to prove are usually strongest, and saw Dan Vickerman’s captaincy as crucial: “it’s good to have the experience there,” he said.

It is unclear whether Dallaglio will be making the 2009 Nomura Varsity Match on December 10.