Action Medical Research have launched a new European ride for 2016, from Paris to Geneva in July.

Joining their London to Paris rides on the sportive calendar, the Paris to Geneva route will allow 50 cyclists to watch the final stage of next year’s Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees before setting off for Switzerland on July 24.

The six-day ride leaves the French capital on July 24 and will take on the 1,323m-high Col de la Faucille en-route.

The route covers 328 miles in all, heading out of Paris to rural Burgundy and through the picturesque settings of Sens, Semur-en-Auxois and Lons-le-Saunier towards the Jura mountains.

Anybody up for an even bigger challenge can combine the event with the London to Paris, which concludes the previous day – a total of ten days in the saddle and close to 600 miles.

An end-of-season Paris to Geneva ride will also be run from September 4, with the charity hoping to add to the £442,000 raised by this year’s two London to Paris rides.

Action Medical Research use the money towards their ground-breaking work in medicine, currently funding research into meningitis, Down’s syndrome, epilepsy and premature birth.

Previous breakthroughs in which the charity has played a major role in their 60-plus years include the development of UK polio vaccines and the use of ultrasound in pregnancy.

Anybody interested in the Paris-to-Geneva ride must pay a registration fee of £149 and then commit to raising £1,650. For more information visit www.action.org.uk/paris-geneva-cycle