Dame Kelly’s saddling up for RideLondon
CYCLING
AFTER a year without riding a bike and fresh from running the Virgin Money London Marathon in April, double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes is taking on her next challenge for charity, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46.
A new event on the roster of this year’s Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling, Dame Kelly is taking on the ride in the hope it will allow her to get back on the bike more and aid her long-term fitness.
Launched in 2013, Prudential RideLondon is the world’s greatest festival of cycling and takes place this weekend (July 30 and 31).
The 46-year-old ran this year’s London Marathon in an impressive three hours and 11 minutes, despite admitting that her training was far from ideal.
And in a similar vein, Dame Kelly will now take on the 46-mile cycle ride having not ridden a bike for more than a year.
She knows it will hurt, but she said the distance, less daunting that the established 100-mile sportive, was ideally suited to novice and recreational cyclists.
“The hook for me was the fact that it is 46 miles, it doesn’t seem too daunting for a beginner – 100 definitely would be for me,” she said.
“Like in running, there are thousands and thousands of people that go out on the bike just to feel good, to train, to be part of a group, to be part of a challenge.
“Sometimes, to keep going and to have an exciting part of that, you need a goal.
“So if anyone’s still thinking, what should I do? Then this is a perfect one for people who have been cycling but haven’t set a challenge - set the challenge, go for it.
“I’m a little bit nervous about it because I’ve never started off a big race with lots of people effectively in my way - I’ll probably need lots of space but it should be quite fun.
“I want that challenge though and it will be nice to go into that cycling world, which I’m not really in at the moment.”
Dame Kelly announced her decision to participate in the event at her own Cafe 1809 – her race number in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games – in Hildenborough, Kent.
“From now onwards I hope that cycling will become a bigger part of my fitness regime, so that I can continue to run.”
The Prudential RideLondonSurrey 46 takes place on Sunday July 31 2016. For more information visit www.PrudentialRideLondon.