I’ve just finished the first leg of the Laureus: breaking the Cycle of Violence campaign and I can tell you that it was an incredible experience. The ride started at the Manchester United football ground, Old Trafford, where it was a great honour to have Tanni Grey-Thompson wave us off.
Daley begins the first leg of Laureus: Breaking the Cycle of Violence
All sorts of personalities including sportmen, actors, cycling enthusiasts and project leaders, decided to join me on the ride but I had no idea they were all such keen cycling enthusiasts! Fortunately, as you can see in this picture of me with Graeme Souness and Michael Le Vell, I’ve got a pretty smart bicycle and keeping a strong pace wasn’t a problem (in fact, I think our support drivers were a bit concerned that we were going too fast).
Michael Le Vell (left) and Graeme Souness (right) join Daley on his campaign
It was a fantastic day of cycling through some breathtaking scenery (pictures to follow) but my early fears about the shape of my saddle were well-founded. I think I’m going to have to ask someone for a cushion!
One of the stories of the day so far has to be Hugo Porta’s slight ‘detour’. The man is a machine and, over a long section of hills, he left the main pack and overshot an important left turning. Unfortunately this meant he continued to motor on downhill for three miles in the wrong direction. Eventually he was found by one of the support vehicles who informed us that he needed to take another detour to return to the main pack. Unfortunately this involved claiming up a 1 in 5 hill so they offered him a lift but being the proud sportsman that he is, he hopped back on his bike and powered his way back to the main pack.
Now we’re off to visit Streetgames, which is a project delivered by the Stoke-on-Trent council. I managed post the fastest time in the cycling challenge at yesterday’s project (I’ve still got it!) but after today’s trials I think I’m going to struggle this afternoon.
More to follow…
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Daley Thompson won more decathlon honours than anybody before him. He is the only man to win two Olympic gold medals and a World Championship. He also created four world records, won three Commonwealth gold medals and two European Championships.
