Saddle up for a ride of your life
Budding cyclists are being urged to join a Paisley Olympian on a fundraising ride of a lifetime.
Brian Smith – who represented Great Britain in the 1996 Olympics and competed in three Commonwealth Games – wants Buddies to join him on the Loch Ness Etape to raise funds for the St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation.
The cycling maestro turned Eurosport commentator has signed up for the 66-mile road race around Loch Ness alongside St Mirren FC chairman John Needham and charity CEO Gayle Brannigan.
Brian, who hails from Gallowhill, is determined to get as many proud Buddies as possible on their bikes to join the trio on the challenge on Sunday, April 28 and support one of the most impactful charities in the town.
The lifelong Buddies fan said: “This challenge is a great opportunity to tie my love for cycling and St Mirren together.
“I have done a lot in cycling, from team management to cycling in the Olympics and road racing with Lance Armstrong but, no matter where I have been in the world, I have always kept St Mirren close to my heart.
“When I was in France, I would phone mum and dad from the pay phone and the first thing I would ask is what was the score.
“So, this really is amazing to do something to bring those two passions together.
“Living in London, I can’t get as involved in the foundation as I would like but this is one way I can help and I hope we can do more challenges in the future.
“To have John and Gayle doing it too is great.”
The Etape is a 360° closed-road route around the loch which starts and finishes in Inverness.
The route offers 900 metres of ascent, while the King of the Mountain stage is a 4.8-mile climb gaining 380m in height with a gradient reaching 12 per cent at times.
It is, Brian says, a great route for people with a road racing bike to take on to win sponsorship and much-needed cash for the foundation which is seeking to raise funds for an in-house minibus. But cycling enthusiast John says he is looking forward to the endurance test.
And the St Mirren chairman – who has taken on a number of challenges to raise funds for and the profile of the charitable arm of the club – says he is happy to get back on the saddle.
The chairman, whose daughter had actually signed him up for the Etape as part of her own efforts to recover from an injury, descried the initiative as a “great coincidence”.
He said: “Brian had been talking about doing something for the foundation for a while and talked about the Etape so it was a great idea that my daughter chose it and so it was a brilliant fit, serendipity,
“Gayle never says no to any challenge or adventure and is going to do it as well so we can get fit together and hopefully raise funds together.”
The task of keeping up with a former international competitor is slightly more daunting for John, however.
He added: “It’s very daunting. For Brian, he won’t even have to get out of first gear.
“I am a very keen cyclist but in recent years I have been doing less and less so this is a great opportunity to force me back on my bike and I really enjoy it when I can fit it in.”
He added: “Gayle and the team at the foundation do a fantastic job and are adding more and more programmes to support local people all the time. Everyone at the club, not just me, is determined to help them continue to have that incredible impact in the Paisley area.”