Thousands of cyclists saddle up for inaugural Vélo Birmingham

John Carrigan, Martin Johnson, Geoff Thomas, James McLaughlin and Jon Ridgeon ahead of Velo Birmingham

Thousands of amateur cyclists and fundraisers are gearing up for the inaugural Vélo Birmingham 100-mile closed-road cycle event, which takes place on Sunday.

Among those taking part in the event are England Rugby World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, who is also Vélo Birmingham Ride Ambassador.

The Solihull-born sportsman said: “It’s great to have an event of this scale in the Midlands. We deserve it. Cycling is a great sport that anyone can do, from all walks of life.”

Vélo Birmingham starts and finishes on Broad Street in Birmingham city centre and takes the 15,000 participants through the countryside and historic towns and villages of Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Sandwell and Dudley, before arriving back in Birmingham.

The event is hopeful of raising around £1m for good causes both locally and nationally, with Vélo Birmingham’s gold charity partners; Cure Leukaemia, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Charity Birmingham, NSPCC and the Alzheimer’s Society due to receive thousands of pounds of extra income thanks to cyclists’ fund-raising efforts.

Participants will be travelling from across the UK to take part in the event. Among those is a courageous dad who won a police bravery award for helping to save the life of a man who set himself alight.

Tim Tranter, a 31-year-old operations manager from Bromyard, Herefordshire, is tackling Vélo Birmingham to raise funds for mental health awareness.

And the Vélo Birmingham Business 100 challenge, which invited corporate teams to compete, will raise more than £100,000 for charity.
A team of cyclists from Birmingham’s Colmore Business District will raise money for Sifa Fireside, the Digbeth-based charity that aims to improve health and inclusion for homeless people.

Birmingham corporate finance firm, Clearwater International is amongst those taking part. Its team features: Natasha Eden, Director of Marketing, Alex Brindley, Associate and Dan Salt, Director. They are joined by Michael Stace, a partner at law firm Browne Jacobson.

Also participating is Henrik Court, Events Director at TheBusinessDesk.com.

Partner organisation London Midland has advised that while all train stations will be open as usual on Sunday, rail passengers should allow extra time when travelling to and from stations on the Vélo route, to account for road alterations.

Stourbridge Junction station will be additionally affected, as it will only be accessible to pedestrians from 06.30 – 11.00. The booking office staff will be looking to make alternative arrangements for parking.

Due to the scale and numbers participating in Vélo Birmingham, organisers have said it will be necessary to implement road closures across the full route to facilitate the safe passage of the participants.

The route has been carefully considered and selected through a partnership of all local authorities, emergency services and transport operators to minimise the inconvenience of the necessary road closures.

Vélo Birmingham is the flagship event of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution – a Birmingham City Council initiative aiming to make cycling an everyday way to travel in Birmingham over the next 20 years, a pledge that has taken on added significance with the city in the running to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Former England, Wolves and Crystal Palace footballer, blood cancer survivor and Cure Leukaemia Patron Geoff Thomas is another well-known former sportsman taking part.

He said: “I may have cycled the Three Tours Challenge this summer but I always saw Vélo Birmingham as the final leg of my cycling exploits in 2017. Cure Leukaemia have a team of 600 taking on the 100-mile route and I am looking forward to riding alongside everyone.

“All funds raised from our riders will go towards the charity’s £1m appeal to expand the globally-significant Centre for Clinical Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

“Once completed, the centre will have doubled its capacity for blood cancer patients, groundbreaking clinical trials and specialist research nurses.

“Not only will the expanded centre directly help save more lives but it will also hasten global progress towards eradicating all forms of blood cancer within 25 years.”

Also participating is England Under-21 football manager Aidy Boothroyd and former West Bromwich Albion defender Darren Moore, the club’s current Professional Development Phase Coach/Loan Manager.

Jon Ridgeon, Executive Chairman of CSM Active, organisers of Vélo Birmingham, said: “After almost three years of planning and organising and lots of hard work we’re finally here.

“On Sunday we will have some 15,000 riders lining up to take part in the magical 100-mile distance. It’s the ultimate amateur rider challenge.

“We’re very proud of the fact that in its first year Vélo Birmingham will be the second biggest closed-road cycle event in the UK.
“It’s going to be a great weekend and my thanks go to our hosting local authorities: Birmingham, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Sandwell and Dudley.

“Our four gold charity partners will see more than 1,000 cyclists taking part on their behalf, raising thousands of pounds for these amazing causes.

“Our big focus now is on giving all our riders a first-rate, safe experience this weekend. It’s going to be a stunning route that starts in Birmingham before showcasing the beautiful rolling countryside of Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

“Bewdley and Droitwich Spa will be hosting our Fan Zones, so if you’re in those areas, do go along and watch the cyclists passing through.”

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