THREE members of a Henley rowing club have teamed up with Sir Steve Redgrave for the world’s toughest cycle race.
The 48-year-old Olympic rowing champion and Upper Thames Rowing Club members Peter McConnell, Ian Neville and John Mottram aim to raise £100,000 for Sport Relief and the Steve Redgrave Fund.
They will be taking part in the Race Across America, an endurance event in which competitors ride 3,000 miles from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland, in just over eight days.
Teams complete up to 400 miles per day in all terrains, weathers and temperatures as they cross 14 states, climbing the Rocky Mountains and across deserts.
Sir Steve, a five-times Olympic gold medal winner, said: "I was looking for something that would enable me to raise money for my charity and challenge me to train hard again and get some real fitness back.
"RAAM is an unbelievable race and I’m really lucky to be doing it with a group of old friends, who I know I can rely on to put everything they’ve got into both the fund-raising and the ride itself. I know when we get out there we’re going to want to achieve the best we can and will push ourselves to the limit."
Mr Mottram, 49, runs a flooring company. He looks after the building maintenance at the rowing club, where his children form the backbone of the junior squad, and only learned to row himself in the past year.
He said: "As I’m deep into my mid-life crisis and needed a new project after losing three stones and getting fit by doing triathlons and learning to row, this seemed like a good project to take me to the next stage.
"I met Steve and some of the other guys from Marlow Rowing Club, where my older children first started to row, and knew Pete pretty well from Upper Thames.
It’s a huge challenge for all of us but I can’t wait until we’re on the start line."
Mr Neville, 47, has rowed on and off at Upper Thames for 20 years and is also a successful cyclist. He almost broke the world 25-mile tandem record in 2003. He runs rowing outriggers Len Neville & Sons, who made the riggers for Sir Steve’s winning boat at the 2000 Olympics.
Mr Neville said: "This has been a long-held ambition of mine but it’s not easy putting together a team and financing the project. Being part of Steve’s team is fantastic and being with some of the Upper Thames boys makes it much more fun."
Mr McConnell, 47, has been an Upper Thames member for nearly 15 years and has won numerous veteran events. He rowed in the successful Great Marlow School four with Steve in the late Seventies but this is the first time the duo will have competed together since then.
Mr McConnell, who runs Henley marketing firm Footfall Services, said: "I was getting over a knee operation when Steve asked me if I’d like to join the team.
"I didn’t realise the enormity of the task but it has been a real spur to get fit again and helping to raise funds for Steve’s charity is a massive motivator. I am incredibly excited about the race and am loving the training for it."
The team will be supported by Justin Fielder, Jim Wetherell and Malcolm Cooper.
Mr Fielder, who used to row with Mr Neville at Upper Thames, is in charge of the logistics, Mr Wetherell, another Upper Thames member, is an experienced cyclist whose knowledge will help the team and Mr Cooper is a friend of Sir Steve who thought up the challenge.
The Steve Redgrave Fund was launched in 2001 and has raised more than £5 million. It supports community groups, small charities and schools in areas of economic or social deprivation. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/redgraveraceacrossamerica.
To follow the team’s progress, go to www.redgravecrew.com or Twitter @redgravecrew
Published on 07 April 2010
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