Last week, some of the biggest names in British cycling helped to raise a significant £285,000 for children’s charity Action Medical Research at its annual Champions of CycleSport Dinner.
The glittering event at Battersea Evolution on Thursday 24 November saw surprise guest Jason Kenny join wife Laura Kenny on the red carpet to raise money to help save and change children’s lives. Also showing their support for Action Medical Research were Jody Cundy MBE, fresh from his double gold victory in the Rio Paralympics, 2012 Olympic champion Dani King MBE and Team GB road cyclist Geraint Thomas MBE.
Katie Archibald, Laura Kenny’s Olympic team mate in the record-breaking women’s team pursuit quartet, and fellow gold medal winner Steven Burke MBE were in attendance too.
“This was one of the best events that Action Medical Research has put on – it’s fantastic to be part of such an impressive celebration of cycling talent,” said Jody Cundy. “The atmosphere in the room is great and it’s humbling to see how generous everyone is for such an important cause.”
The seventh annual Champions of CycleSport Dinner, supported by Maserati and Garmin who’ll both be returning as sponsors for the charity in 2017, was opened by former rowing world champion and double Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell OBE.
(Event sponsor Garmin is offering consumers the chance to raise money for Action when they purchase a Fenix Chronos watch on the Garmin website – ‘enter the code ACTION10 and Garmin will donate 10% to help save and change children’s lives’.)
Also on the guest list were Movistar’s Alex Dowsett, JLT-Condor’s Russ Downing, mountain biking legend Martyn Ashton and Jack Bauer from Cannondale-Drapac. Darren Kenny OBE and Rochelle Gilmore, Team Manager for Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling, were joined by Stephen Roche and Dean Downing as well as Scottish former professional road racing cyclist David Millar.
Presenter OJ Borg acted as MC during the evening and Sky News’ Dermot Murnaghan conducted interviews on stage with celebrities including Geraint Thomas and Laura and Jason Kenny.
Alex Dowsett, whose Little Bleeders charity supports young people with blood disorders, spoke about his battle with haemophilia as a child. “I spent time on crutches and even in a wheelchair when I was growing up because of haemophilia-related problems, but a child growing up in the UK now won’t have any of those issues, because of the research that charities like Action Medical Research have done.
“I would urge anyone to support them as their work really can change the lives of future generations.”
Dame Kelly Holmes DBE joined the stars at the event along with long-term Action supporter Dr Dawn Harper and 5 News Tonight presenter Matt Barbet.
The star-studded gala dinner, which is also sponsored by BDOVELO, marks the end of another successful season of high-profile rides for the children’s charity: this year more than 6,000 riders raised a total of £829,500 across all of Action’s cycling events.
Action Medical Research launched its most extreme cycling challenge yet for cycling fans at the event: the new Orobus challenge on Sunday 13 August 2017, which will ‘push even the most experienced sportive riders to their limits on a 250-mile route from Bath to London… and back again.’
As well as the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the sport’s greatest riders, guests at the charity dinner had the chance to bid for some auction lots. The auction, which was sponsored by Keepmoat, included a signed painting of Chris Froome by Paul Oz, a Smeg fridge signed by many of the celebrity guests on the night, and tickets to the Tour de France.
An impromptu offer of a ride out with Geraint Thomas and Laura & Jason Kenny, as well as backstage passes to see Elton John in concert, raised £5,000.
Action Medical Research’s Senior Partnership Development Manager Sarah Stevenson said “We were delighted to see such an incredible number of cycling champions in the room for our event, all working so hard to help us raise this fantastic amount to help sick and disabled babies and children across the UK.
“It was an amazing evening and it really does emphasise that cycling is such an important part of our fundraising work. But aside from the glitz and glamour, there’s also the serious message that medical research for children is underfunded in the UK. For every project Action funds there’s another one we have to turn away because of a lack of funds, so this event makes an enormous difference to our work.”
For more than 60 years Action Medical Research has helped pioneer treatments and ways to prevent disease that have benefited millions of people in the UK and across the world. Research the charity has funded has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths.
The charity is currently funding research into meningitis, Down syndrome, epilepsy and premature birth, as well as some rare and distressing conditions that severely affect children.
