The Active team at CSM Sport & Entertainment, brought local communities together in towns and villages across the Midlands last weekend as 15,000 cyclists took part in the inaugural Vélo Birmingham closed-road cycle sportive, which raised more than £2 million for charity.
The 100-mile cycle started under sun-kissed skies in Birmingham city centre on Sunday, September 24, before taking in spectacular countryside and historic towns in Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Sandwell and Dudley.
Thousands of residents in locations such as Clent, Stourbridge, Belbroughton, Kinver and Bewdley, to name but a few, came out in force to support the riders, with messages of support, words of encouragement and decorated bikes just some of the highlights for the cyclists. The Gardeners’ Arms pub in Droitwich Spa even held a street party to celebrate Vélo Birmingham with a real ale festival and barbecue.
Vélo Birmingham’s four gold charities – Cure Leukaemia, Alzheimer’s Society, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Charity Birmingham and NSPCC – along with many other charities, will receive an estimated £2 million raised by cyclists taking part on their behalf.
The inaugural event organised by our team, helped reinforce Birmingham’s credentials as a host of large-scale events such as the Commonwealth Games after the city recently won the race to be chosen as England’s candidate city for the 2022 Games.
Interim Leader of Birmingham City Council, Cllr Ian Ward, said: “My congratulations to everyone who completed the inaugural Vélo Birmingham cycle.
“It was great to see the 15,000 cyclists cross the start line and hear about so many people coming out to support the cyclists along the route.
“This was an absolute success for the city and our Partners. Given that this weekend we hosted the Archery GB National Series final at Eastside City Park, the Birmingham Weekender arts festival and Vélo Birmingham, it yet again underlines the city’s ability to host major events and is why we will deliver a 2022 Commonwealth Games the whole country can be proud of.”
Among those crossing the Broad Street finish line was England Rugby World Cup-winning captain and Vélo Birmingham Ambassador Martin Johnson.
Martin took part in the Business 100 challenge, which saw over 100 companies take part in the event in teams of four. It is anticipated the Business 100 will raise over £100,000 for good causes.
He said: “It was a really good British ride – out through the city, quite hilly, lovely countryside, nice towns and villages.
“It was always up or down, so it was a tough course. The last 25 miles was hard, so it was a real achievement for everyone riding today. It’s a real privilege to ride closed roads, with no cars. There were also a lot of people out on the course. Going through some of the towns, there were thousands of people out cheering on the cyclists.
“It was quite a community event, lots of people out, sitting on their lawn chairs with a cup of tea or whatever, cheering you on, so it was really good.”
Former England, Wolves and Crystal Palace footballer, blood cancer survivor and Cure Leukaemia Patron Geoff Thomas was one of those taking part on Sunday.
Geoff cycled the 3 Tours Challenge this summer and Vélo Birmingham was the final leg of his cycling exploits in 2017.
Cure Leukaemia had a team of 600 taking on the 100-mile route and all funds raised from riders will go towards the charity’s £1 million appeal to expand the globally-significant Centre for Clinical Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Jon Ridgeon, Executive Chairman of CSM Active, said: “We would like to thank all of our Local Authority partners for helping us make the first ever Vélo Birmingham a truly unforgettable event for the Midlands.”
“It was incredible to witness communities right along the route embrace the event and cheer on the thousands of riders who were taking on this epic challenge.
“Our riders have raised around £2 million for both local and national charities which is an incredible achievement and of course we thank them for their heroic efforts.
“Vélo Birmingham will return next year and we have no doubt that it will be even more exceptional than the inaugural edition.
“This event has the potential to be one of the world’s most iconic cycling events, a stalwart event in the British sporting calendar and a fantastic shop window for the Midlands and we look forward to working with our Local Authority partners to help make this vision a reality.”
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About CSM:
CSM, part of Chime Communications, brings together leading industry experts to offer the full range of services across sport and entertainment marketing. Working with brands, rights owners and live experiences, CSM exists to create impact through challenging convention. This happens because of the organisation’s shared belief that great minds don’t always think alike. CSM, across 26 offices in 19 countries, is made up of 1,000 entrepreneurial people who are empowered to put their hand up and challenge convention in everything they do.
Our Active team’s mission is simple – to deliver outstanding mass participation events that will inspire people to lead a more active lifestyle.
For more information, please contact ali.foster@csmactive.com
About Birmingham Cycle Revolution:
Birmingham Cycle Revolution is a Birmingham City Council initiative that aims to make cycling an everyday way to travel in Birmingham over the next 20 years, with 5% of all trips in the city being made by bike by 2023, doubling this again to 10% by 2033. This will help to make the city healthier, greener, safer and less congested.
Birmingham Cycle Revolution’s objectives are to:
- Improve cycling conditions on popular main roads and parallel routes into the city centre;
- Provide quiet cycling routes and 20mph areas within residential areas;
- Upgrade towpaths on canals;
- Develop new cycling green routes through parks and open spaces;
- Improve local links to cycle routes;
- Provide new secure cycle parking hubs;
- Develop cycle loan and hire schemes to make it easier for people to get started.
People can even get rewarded for cycling with the Better Points app.
Birmingham Cycle Revolution includes Big Birmingham Bikes – a programme of free bikes, bike loan and hire, cycle training and activities in communities to encourage cycling. For more information on the project, progress updates or how you can get involved please contact the Birmingham Cycle Revolution team by email at cycling@birmingham.gov.uk, tweet us @BCRBirmingham or like Birmingham Cycle Revolution on Facebook.
Additionally, Birmingham has been awarded a £1.2 million grant from the Department for Transport (DfT) to enable the Bikeability scheme, designed to give tens of thousands of children the skills and confidence to ride their bikes safely on the city’s roads, to continue until March 2020.
Birmingham Cycle Revolution is part of the council’s Birmingham Connected vision for the future of transport in Birmingham, working towards a safer, healthier, greener city with a reliable integrated transport system which supports our growing population and economy. To find out more visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/connected.