Double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes MBE, fresh from the London Marathon, will ride the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 on Sunday 31 July as she continues her quest to raise £250,000 for five charities: The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Hospice in the Weald, Myeloma UK, Pickering Cancer Centre and Mind UK.
The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 is the latest event to be added to the world’s greatest festival of cycling and was launched by Sir Bradley Wiggins earlier this year. Created for novice riders, the 46 is perfect for riders like Holmes who are taking on their first mass participation cycling challenge.
Speaking at her 1809 Café in Hildenborough, Kent, the two-time gold medallist said: “I’ve never taken part in a mass participation cycling event before but I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be doing whatever I can to enjoy the event and get stuck in with everybody else but I’ll be very honest and open with everyone that I’m a complete novice on the bike and if you go past me, good on you!”
Since retiring from competitive running in 2005, Holmes has dedicated much of her time to charity work and, after setting a fundraising target of £250,000 before running her first Virgin Money London Marathon in April, she is now taking on her second sporting challenge to push the grand total closer to its target.
“I set myself the aim of trying to raise £250,000 for five charities that are very close to my heart and have probably touched lots of other people with what they do. My mum suffered from myeloma recently and is now in remission but she was very lucky with the treatment she received so I’m supporting Myeloma UK to give awareness and profile to smaller cancer charities that aren’t so well known but affect so many people.”
Holmes is also supporting her own charity, the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which has helped more than 3,000 young people reach their potential since it was launched 9 years ago, as well as two Kent charities: Hospice in the Weald, which cared for her coach Dave Arnold before he died in 2006, and the Pickering Cancer Drop-in Centre, a charity run entirely by volunteers.
The fifth charity to benefit from her efforts is the mental health charity Mind. After battling with depression for much of her career, she is determined to stop the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
“I suffered myself from depression and self-harm and it’s not a nice place to be. If you’ve got a physical disability people will help and check you’re okay. But if you’re going through an emotional trauma, whatever that may be, you’ve still got to be sprightly and that’s not fair.”
The 46-mile sportive will begin at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London and follow the same route as the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 for the first 27 miles before taking a new two-mile route, which then links up with the last 17 miles through London to finish in The Mall.
Created specifically for newer cyclists and also younger cyclists, who might find a 100-mile challenge intimidating or, in the case of 16-18 year olds, they are not eligible to enter, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46 offers a great introduction to cycling on traffic-free roads and is the ideal first mass-participation sportive.
Holmes says of the 46: “For me it’s about being involved in a fantastic event with lots of people, some nervous, some excited, and I’m going to get in amongst them. I have no idea how I’m going to do and that’s nice because there will be so many others exactly like me.”
About 3,500 riders are expected on the start line at 0900 on Sunday 31 July. When riders have a confirmed place, they will be able to choose a specific start wave and opt to ride with friends, with other first timers, in all female waves, with U18s or as individuals.
The organisers of the weekend festival of cycling will deliver an extensive community engagement programme with the support of Transport for London (TfL), the London boroughs on the route and Surrey County Council to help residents and businesses along the route plan ahead. This will include pre-awareness campaign posters on the transport network, a series of customer information emails and a leaflet drop in July to 1 million+ residents and businesses along the route. Information on travel disruption and advice is available on www.tfl.gov.uk/ridelondon. To avoid delays over the event weekend, wherever possible all drivers are advised to avoid areas near the event routes.