Celebrities Gather For Cycling Time Trial
On Sunday 18 September, the final day of the Tour of Britain, 17 celebrities will line up for a time-trial at the heart of London for the Prostate Cancer Trust.
Among the celebrity team captains are Chemmy Alcott, Britain’s leading Alpine skier; Shirley Robertson, double Olympic gold medallist sailor and TV presenter; Tasha Danvers, Olympic bronze medallist hurdler; Nick Dempsey, Olympic bronze medallist and Windsurf World Champion; Ben Saunders, the polar explorer; and ex-footballer Mark Bright.
Each celebrity will captain a three person team for the 8.8km sprint with every £100 raised for charity buying the team a one second reduction from their overall time.
Alcott said: ‘Having used cycling to supplement my ski fitness for the last decade and trained regularly in Richmond Park, I am really excited to participate in this TT in the hub of London. This is also the first ‘competition’ I will take part in since shattering my leg in December last time. In fact I have only in the last few weeks started riding again so I need a lot of cheers please!’
Olly Stevens, IG Markets global head of sponsorship, added: ‘This is the first time that everyday cyclists have been able to tackle a time trial on the same course and same day as a major professional race and we hope that the riders and spectators will enjoy it.’
Hugh Roberts, chief executive of The Tour of Britain, said: ‘The IG Markets Hot Lap will give riders the unique experience of riding a professional time trial on The Tour of Britain’s equivalent of the Champs-Élysées. This is a unique chance for these riders to cycle on closed roads at the heart of London, while raising money for a very worthy cause.’
