Where to Ski And Snowboard - Chemmy takes on Tour of Britain race

Chemmy takes on Tour of Britain race

16th September 2011, by Chris Gill

Chemmy Alcott with two wheels - right of pic.

Alpine skier Chemmy Alcott is taking to her bike on 18 September, for a celebrity lap in the Tour of Britain cycle race.

Alcott, whose ski season was cut short when she broke her leg in a huge crash last December, is among the 17 sporting and media celebrities signed up for the charity lap in London – the final day of the Tour de Britain race. The celebrities will captain teams of three cyclists in the Hot Lap, an 8.8km circuit of the City, in support of the Prostate Cancer Charity.

Over 50 amateur cyclists have signed up for the time-trial course in London, which takes place just prior to the official final stage of the Tour of Britain, which incidentally is visiting one of the editorial team’s home areas today: Somerset, passing through Wells, Cheddar and Shepton Mallet!

For the celebrities, there is every incentive to raise funds for the charity: every £100 buys the team a one second reduction on their overall time.

Chemmy says, “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!”

Among the other riders will be Shirley Robertson, double Olympic Gold medallist sailor and Ben Saunders, the polar explorer; as well as actors from the BBC’s Casualty programme and former Spandau Ballet singer Gary Kemp.

If you are in London and want to catch the action, the IG Markets Hot Lap will kick off at 1300hrs, with the professional time-trial taking place during the morning – a couple of hours before the final stage of The Tour of Britain which starts at 15:45pm.

For more information on the IG Markets Hot Laps and the Tour of Britain, go to: Tour of Britain news

Hopefully Chemmy will be back on two planks this winter, competing for Britain in the FIS Alpine races.