The fourth stage began in St Moritz, which is well into the formidable Swiss Alps and home of two Winter Olympic Games – so you know they must have experienced some tough climbs.

From all reports the riders were buzzing from the natural beauty of the Alps with its perfect 19c-25c weather and the scenic views – the mountains even induced the odd sing-a-long of ‘the hills are aliveeeee’.

All their singing must have led to some (rain) dancing with the riders experienced their first day of rain.

The rain continued into the next day with the riders even requesting to delay the start to let the rain pass. Unfortunately for them the rain didn’t look like it would clear up so they had to throw on their waterproof clothing and set up for a full day of heavy rain.

Their final day of cycling the fourth stage was a memorable journey. Starting off in Basel, Switzerland, and touching the edge of Germany and then entering France, all within the first 5km of their ride.

Even more memorable was when Sir Richard Branson joined the group for tea. Who knows, if they cancelled on the third day they may missed meeting Sir Richard.

We were delighted to hear that one of our team members was going so well on the show and that someone as influential and respected as Will.i.am showed him so much on national television.

The crowd at The Pheasantry included loads of people from the music and media world, friends and family plus some people who were lucky enough to grab a ticket.

So, on the 1^st May Jay rocked up on stage, showcased some of his infectious charm and performed some beautiful acoustic gems backed by his pianist and guitarist.

We just wanted to thank Jay for coming down and performing some songs for us – we wish him all the best as he takes on the world.

One of the cool things Cycle Slam have introduced into this year’s ride is a live rider tracker which maps where all the riders are with a GPS set up. We are pretty sure Laurence Dallaglio and Freddie Flintoff wanted to introduce this so they can keep track of the winning group – who would have thought they were so competitive?

With post card views and perfect weather, Marcelo De Paula, PizzaExpress Training and Develpment Manager took time out to fill us in on some of his experiences from his ride.

“I must say I was quite relaxed before I jumped on the Slam as I was expecting we would be drinking wine for lunch rather than water. Boy, I was wrong.

Things started off with a lycra breakfast in the medieval city of Lucca in Italy. Let me tell you that Lycra isn’t the best thing to wear for breakfast.
With the picturesque surroundings for my star, it was the glimpse of mountains surrounding the city that reminded me that water would be my preferred drink for the next few days.

As we began our journey I realised I could some up my ride in one word: hills. So many hills. They never seemed to end.

After Lucca we made our way to Mantona in Lombardy. For all the romantics out there, that’s where Romeo from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was banished. I’m sure he didn’t ride his bicycle when he was banished because I couldn’t imagine he could handle those hills without gears!

It was a lot of hard work but I must admit it was so much fun because all the riders worked so hard together – even though we were (kind of) competing for times we still managed to joke about and grab a well-earned drink at the local.”

As we rode through the Italian Alps we ended the third stage in Aprica, a ski resort. A relaxed resort was the perfect way to end the stage and my journey.”

25p from each American Hot sold at our restaurants will be donated to Cycle Slam.
You can make a donation by visiting Dallagliflintoff2012.com

We haven’t even mentioned the soft fennel salami – specially made for us by award winning charcuterie Trealy Farm. The fennel salami is placed on a classic base with chilli flakes, fennel seeds and mozzarella sprinkled on top.

As it comes out of the oven our pizzaiolos pepper the pizza with grated grana padano and top it off with the fennel and rocket. The heat from the pizza and the coolness of the fennel and rocket really brings the pizza to life.

We are so proud of Valentine’s ‘Summery’ creation. And Valentine is also so proud to present a pizza with his favourite ingredient – fennel.

Introduced on the 24^th April, Valentine’s Fennel & Salami pizza is proving to be extremely popular with PizzaExpress fans – make sure you drop by and try it for yourself.

Competition:
Win a Chef’s Table experience with Valentine Warner – where he will cook for especially for you and five friends.

Click http://ow.ly/aHHiM to enter.

Alex Whitelaw, one of the PizzaExpress team, filled us in on some of the events that took place.

“The first day started with Lawrence Dallaglio and Freddie Flintoff being presented with an olive tree by the Mayor of Olympia. The 170km ride was exhausting but rather eventful, especially with Freddie getting his team lost twice.

© Robert Cox Photography

With a 6.30am start on the second day, we were greeted with the news that Lee Dixon was to replace Graeme Le Saux as leader for their group. Unfortunately this didn’t deter Graeme as he led the group to the end. All rather confusing.

Freddie organised some entertainment for Lawrence and the group that evening – some local traditional Greek dancers. The best part was that Freddie couldn’t resist adding some breakdance moves to assist the dancers.

We were lucky enough to sleep in to 8.30am on the third day. The day included another meeting with a local Mayor for Lawrence and Freddie – A daily occurrence it would seem.

© Robert Cox Photography 

 The remainder of the week involved more climbing of hills, pit stops at the local, angry dogs attempting to jump into bike spokes and stunning scenery.

The final day of the first week quickly arrived and we were all feeling the distance. Steve Easterbrook, PizzaExpress CEO, couldn’t resist catching a lift towards the end of the day. By ‘lift’, I mean holding on to the back of the Discovery Channel truck. I probably shouldn’t have said that!”

Don’t forget that you can still donate at the Cycle Slam website or buy purchasing an American Hot at any PizzaExpress restaurant – a discretionary 25p will be donated on your behalf.

Lawrence Dallaglio’s fundraiser, the ‘Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012′, raises funds for cancer research and children’s rehabilitation projects.

Valentine has been hard at work with our team to develop two stunning pizzas that cover two food areas that should please you all – meat and fish.

The exciting thing about Valentine’s creations is that they are not simple pizzas; the Fennel Salami pizza features a fennel salami and some additional fresh fennel drizzled in lemon. We are certain Valentine will turn a few people into fennel fanatics – It is truly delicious.

The Puttanesca uses marinated anchovies with capers and mixed olives; these ingredients steal the show for this pizza as it really packs a punch.

Valentine Warner’s two fabulous pizzas are available from today, 24^th April, at all PizzaExpress restaurants.

Exclusive competition:
We are offering one lucky PizzaExpress fan the chance to have Valentine Warner cook exclusively for them and five friends at a private seating. This Chef’s Table experience will give you an insider look at Valentine’s inspiration behind the pizzas.

To enter click here

With hundreds of hours in training and fundraising, the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam is underway for 2012.

As a proud sponsor of Cycle Slam 2012, we will give you updates on the riders journey as they enter into the ancient villages with cobbled streets, mountainous terrain with never-ending turns, and to the local after a hard day of work.

Cycle Slam 2012 is a great initiative set up by former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio and cricketing captain Freddy Flintoff, who have pulled together over 250 people to volunteer their time to take part on this ride which plans to generate £2,012,000.
Each Cycle Slam rider was set the task of raising £3000 each for the charity even before they put foot to pedal.

We have several members from the PizzaExpress team who will take part in the Cycle Slam and we will give you all the goss and behind the scene updates on the action.

© Robert Cox Photography

Valentine has been busy working with us to develop two pizzas for our Spring menu, that launches on 24^th April.
Valentine’s passion for simple food and fresh ingredients is what sets him apart.

He has introduced one of his favourite ingredients, fennel, in one of his pizzas. We believe the flavour combination of fennel and salami will be a massive hit. Watch fennel become the next big thing on the high street.
And something else to note is that he has created a pizza without meat – yes, something for the vegetarians! How can you not love Valentine, he makes something for everyone.

To celebrate the launch of Valentine Warner’s delicious pizzas we are hosting Tasting Evenings in London, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh exclusively for our Facebook community. 125 PizzaExpress fans will have a night on us where you try the new additions to our Spring menu.

All you have to do is visit our Facebook page and leave your details in the ‘Valentine Warner’ tab.
Entries close on the day of launch, 24^th April.

To help you get started with Wrapp we will give you the first £3 then you and your friends can top up and start sharing. It is also available on iPhone and Android phones so you can share on the move.

All you have to do is download the free Wrapp app and then you’re away.

Our eGifts are redeemable at ALL PizzaExpress restaurants.

Click here to get started.

We also love this time of year because everyone talks about longer days and more importantly – beach holidays.

Who out there cannot wait to head to the water? Same here. We have gone so far to design a swimsuit, modelled here by one of our fans Jodie Kidd.
As you can see the swimsuit has a hole in the middle, just like our Leggera pizzas.

We may make these swimsuit available if enough people ‘Like’ it on our Facebook page.

Make sure you let us know what you think by clicking here.