Vélo Birmingham business challenge riders raise £123,000
THE Vélo Birmingham Business 100 challenge smashed its £100,000 fundraising target at the 100-mile closedroad cycle sportive.
Over £123,000 was raised for local and national good causes by businesses from across the Midlands at the major cycle ride on September 24.
The funds raised by the Business 100 cyclists add to the £2 million expected to be raised for charity by Vélo Birmingham’s individual participants from across the UK.
The inaugural sportive saw 15,000 people sign up for a closed-road cycle ride through Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Sandwell and Dudley.
The sportive’s Business 100 riders began the day led by Vélo Birmingham ambassador and England Rugby World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson.
With an impressive £31,126 raised, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) Eye Cycle Team won the prize of an all-expenses trip for four riders to take part in the 2018 Cape Argos, a famous annual cycle held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Surgeons, patients and their families joined forces to raise money for sight-saving equipment as part of the QEHB Eye Appeal.
Tim Matthews, consultant neuroophthalmologist at QEHB, said: “It was a pleasure to cycle Vélo Birmingham alongside my colleagues from the Eye Department at QEHB.
“We all enjoyed the significant challenge that cycling 100 miles posed to us and it was wonderful to raise so much money. We are all incredibly excited and honoured to have won the Business 100 prize and we look forward to sending a team over to South Africa next year.”
Birmingham-based workplace management specialists Donseed raised £22,615 for their charities of the year.
The Donseed team were joined by Martin Johnson as their honorary fifth member for Vélo Birmingham.
Johnson said: “It was a real privilege to take part in Vélo Birmingham, riding closed roads, with no cars, through some amazing Midlands towns, villages and countryside.
“For me, being a part of the Business 100 has been a great experience, getting to meet teams taking part in Vélo Birmingham to raise money for some truly amazing, lifechanging causes.
“My congratulations to all the businesses who took part and for reaching well over £100,000 raised. Here’s hoping they can top that for Vélo Birmingham 2018.”
HomeServe – including chief Martin Bennett – rode in aid of The Royal British Legion, specifically for the Legion’s Pop-in Centre in Birmingham. They raised an amazing £20,689 for the Centre.
Vélo Birmingham’s individual cyclists are expected to raise more than £2 million for local and national good causes, with the four gold charity partners – Cure Leukaemia, the Alzheimer’s Society, NSPCC and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Charity Birmingham – receiving thousands for their life-saving appeals.
Jon Ridgeon, executive chairman of CSM Active, organisers of Vélo Birmingham, said: “Vélo Birmingham Business 100 provides the business community with a unique opportunity to experience an unrivalled VIP participation experience.
“The Business 100 allows riders to unlock exclusive training and networking opportunities, boost employee engagement and provide the perfect platform for fundraising activities.”
The Business 100 was supported by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, the Birmingham Post and DLA Piper.