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News: Champions dinner raises £100,000 for Action Medical Research

Some of the biggest names on two wheels attended the second annual Champions of CycleSport Dinner in aid of charity Action Medical Research last week (10 Nov), which raised more than £100,000 to help sick babies and children.

Champion guests at the event at London’s Porchester Hall included man of the moment Mark Cavendish, Olympic gold medallists Geraint Thomas MBE and Chris Boardman MBE, and British Cycling’s Performance Director Dave Brailsford. Others included ‘Flying Scotsman’ Graham Obree, Tour de France riders Ben Swift and David Millar, upcoming female rider Dani King and former pro rider John Herety, now manager of the Rapha Condor Sharp cycling team.

The gala dinner was hosted by newsreader and TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan, himself a keen cyclist who this year rode the charity’s UK End 2 End event. As well as the opportunity to mix with some of cycling’s greatest riders, guests also had the chance to bid for top cycling prizes in the auction. Lots included a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy a day’s training ride with the legendary Chris Boardman – with Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas both putting in winning bids, alongside other guests. Cav also bought a signed guitar donated by Stereophonics bass player Richard Jones, which he said he’d be sending to Bradley Wiggins!

Olympic cyclist Geraint Thomas, Cycling Ambassador for the charity, said: “I really enjoyed the first Champions of CycleSport Dinner but this year was even better. It was a great night and I’m so proud that such a fantastic amount of money was raised. It was great to see so many people from the world of cycling joining together to celebrate the sport and support such a worthy cause. I’m now looking forward to my ride with Chris Boardman, and of course to next year’s CycleSport event.”

Action Medical Research is a charity that has a passion for cycling and is celebrating the end of another successful season of events. The charity’s cycling portfolio includes the RIDE100 series of one-day regional UK rides, the highly competitive RIDE24 relay race and the biggest London to Paris ride in the charity sector.

The charity’s 2012 cycling programme includes new event Ride L’Etape, replicating stage 19 from this year’s Tour de France, and the expansion of its DIVA100 series of women-only rides.

Money raised by the charity helps fund medical research into conditions affecting babies and children. Research currently being supported by Action Medical Research includes work around meningitis, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and premature birth, as well as some very rare and distressing conditions that severely affect children.

For more information about the Champions of CycleSport Dinner visit www.action.org.uk/champions

For more details on Action Medical Research cycling events, go to www.action.org.uk/cycling

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