CHELSEA icon Eden Hazard cycled up the iconic Mont Ventoux climb just one week before he plays at Soccer Aid.
The Blues legend, 33, will grace the Stamford Bridge turf on Sunday, June 9 when he turns out for the World XI in West London.
But the retired forward is refusing to rest up ahead of the charity match.
Hazard shared on his Instagram story a picture of him in cycling clothes and a location tag of “Mont Ventoux”, along with the message “Ready to climb..”
Two hours later he then added another photo with brothers Thorgan, Ethan and Kylian and a number of other cyclists all in the jerseys of pro team Intermarche–Wanty.
And the caption at the top of the image read: “Winning Team!!”
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Mont Ventoux is one of the most famous climb’s in cycling’s biggest race – the Tour de France.
The routes the riders take range between 13.4 and 16 miles, climbing between 1,210 and 1,617 metres.
Infamously, British cycling legend Tom Simpson collapsed and died when climbing Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour – the official cause of death later confirmed to be “heart failure caused by exhaustion”.
Meanwhile, Chelsea fans will be eager to see the return of Hazard to Stamford Bridge.
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The ex-Belgian international contributed 110 goals and 85 assists in 352 games for the Blues across a seven-year spell.
He won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup and two Europa Leagues.
Hazard, who scored 33 goals in 126 caps for Belgium, left for Real Madrid in 2019 in a deal worth £130million.
But while he won two LaLiga titles and the Champions League during his time in Spain, he was ultimately deemed a failure for scoring just seven goals in 76 games.
He announced his retirement last October at the age of just 32.
Here are the confirmed teams for Soccer Aid:
England: Frank Lampard (Co-Manager), Harry Redknapp (Co-Manager), Robbie Williams (Co-Manager), Jill Scott (Captain), Paddy McGuinness (Celebrity Goalkeeper), David James (Professional Goalkeeper), David Seaman (Goalkeeping Coach) Jermain Defoe, Jack Wilshere, Joe Cole, Karen Carney, Gary Cahill, Tom Grennan, Steven Bartlett, Erin Doherty, Sir Mo Farah, Alex Brooker, Stuart Broad, Bobby Brazier, Sam Thompson, Ellen White, Theo Walcott, Danny Dyer and Miniminter.
World XI: Mauricio Pochettino (Manager), Jesus Perez (Coach), Usain Bolt (Captain), Eden Hazard, Roberto Carlos, Martin Compston, Maisie Adam, Roman Kemp, Lee Mack, Tommy Fury, Diamond, Michael Essien, Patrice Evra, Petr Cech, Jason Manford, John Obi Mikel, Kaylyn Kyle and Theo Baker.
Soccer Aid stats
SOCCER AID has been played since 2006.
It was founded by Robbie Williams and his pal Jonathan Wilkes.
It started out as a biennial event but since 2018 it has been played every year.
The match is between England and a World XI.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
