Freddie Flintoff and Lawrence Dallaglio in Cycle Slam challenge

For those who reach the top of their sport, it's often not easy for them to continue to challenge themselves. Not so for Ashes-winning England cricketing legend Freddie Flintoff and former England rugby captain and Rugby World Cap winner Lawrence Dallaglio. We talked to them about their Olympics-inspired endurance challenge, Cycle Slam.

This summer Lawrence Dallaglio and Freddie Flintoff are undertaking an epic 2,817km, 22-day charity cycle ride from the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece, to the venue of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. They set off on St George's Day, 23 April and hope to cross the finish line on 19 May. MSN Him talked to Lawrence Dallaglio about the project.

What spurred you to get involved?

"I did a bike ride a couple of years ago around the Six Nations stadium. For me, when I finished my rugby career I wanted to come up with some physical challenges. We came up with the concept of Cycle Slam - it was a lot of fun and we raised £1.4m first time round for some incredible charities.

"Freddie was planning on doing one day [last time] but stayed for nine. Two years later we were thinking what sort of challenge would be a good one? It being an Olympic year we thought cycling from the birthplace of the Olympics in Athens to the Olympic Park in London seemed like a very good idea."

"It's going to be very challenging - 3,000km and 22 days of cycling. We've got 250 people cycling, with myself, Freddie and about 12 others in the core team that will cycle the whole way. Lee Dixon will be joining us - bar a couple of slots on Match of the Day - for most of it so we've got one fit cyclist at least.

"We've set outselves an extremely ambitious fundraising target and me and Fred will be driving that, but the beauty of the concept is that everyone plays their part. We have over 250 cyclists all raising money themselves. Fred and I aren't necessarily built for cycling so in terms of how we approach each day, some days we'll be towards the middle and back of the pack, particularly on the climbing stages. It should be a lot of fun though, it's about doing things together and we're looking forward to it. There are some very, very good cyclists and some who've never cycled before in their lives so it's going to be a great challenge for us.

• On MSN Him: Toughest endurance challenges known to man

What training have you done?

"We're both used to training very hard for our respective sports but let's be honest, we've not followed that regime since we retired! Other things take over in your life but we've both got our bikes, we're ably supported by Halfords on and off the road and the training starts now really. I'm not going to get obsessed by it - I know Freddie won't - because there's only so much we can do in and around the jobs that we do and the family.

"It's about getting a bit more used to time in the saddle, which is not the most comfortable and see how we go from there. I think it's the mental battle where we can use our experience really because 22 days in the saddle is mentally going to be challenging. Doing over 100 miles a day on average is also quite a battle for both of us. The most important thing is when you go into a bit of pain you think about the charities we're raising the money for and the people who are in a lot more pain than us. I'm sure that will keep us going the whole way through."

• On MSN Him: What can playing an Olympic sport can do for your health?

You have four days on and one day off - how are you going to spend it?

"It's to give us a turnaround day. Last time we did 27 days one after the other. This time we have five stages, each with around 60 or 70 and it's important that we give them a chance to celebrate each stage and then bring in the new cyclists. I won't be sitting down too much that day that's for sure!"

• On MSN Him: How to burn 1,000 calories - fast

Any sights you're particularly keen on seeing?

"The organisers Green Room who planned the route are very experienced cyclists themselves and I gave them some of the criteria I wanted. And without using the cliche, it has something for everyone. I'm sure cycling through the Alps in Italy and the Swiss Alps will be particularly challenging. Going around Lake Garda, we've got a couple of nights in Champagne in France, then from Paris across to Roubaix on cobbled tracks, which will be lively... Even Greece, I've never been to other than Ayia Napa and it beats my usual holiday to Corfu!

"We've set ourselves an individual target of £250,000 between us and we're on £25,000 so far, so we're 10% there but there's a long way to go."

• Donate to Cycle Slam

The charities

Riders aim to raise £2,012,000 for the Dallaglio Foundation (supporting Cancer Research UK) and the AF Foundation (a children's charity raising funds to build, develop and improve Child rehabilitation and physiotherapy units throughout the UK) as well as Virgin Unite (the not-for-profit foundation, helping young people in the UK to increase their employability and entrepreneurialism, as well as tackling other important issues for young people).

Official Cycle Slam route:

The route is made up of five stages, each of four or five days.

• Stage 1: Classic Greece (four days): 521km / 325mi, 4,740m / 15,642ft climbing
• Stage 2: Italian Riviera (five days): 728km / 455mi, 6,107m / 20,031ft climbing
• Stage 3: Strade Bianche (five days): 562km / 352mi, 6,576m / 21,569ft climbing
• Stage 4: Swiss Alps (four days): 483km / 302mi, 4,829m / 15,839ft climbing
• Stage 5: Champagne (four days): 578km / 362mi, 4,173m / 12,691ft climbing

Halfords is the Official Cycling Partner of the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 supported by Virgin Media, and are supplying Boardman Road Team Carbon bikes to Lawrence and Freddie, along with mechanical support and spares for all riders throughout the event.

• Join MSN Him on Facebook
• Follow MSN Him on Twitter