Seventeen of the country’s top sports photographers have raised over £3,000 for Panathlon by spending a day cycling through the Cotswolds.
The third annual bike ride of its kind, and second tour of the Cotswolds, saw top sports freelancers compete alongside agencies to help support Panathlon’s work with disabled young people.
After weeks of planning by Gerry McManus, the cyclists set out on a circular route from Burford village in autumnal conditions.
The 72 mile circuit included three key climbs with a total ascent of around 1,200m, with a ‘King of the Mountains’ prize up for grabs for the best points overall in the 3 climbs.
Henry Browne from Reuters (pictured right) defending his polka dot jersey from last year, won two of the climbs outright and was well placed in the third to ensure he retained his King of the Mountains award.
The ‘King’ of the Mountains award pays tribute to a sadly deceased photographer colleague- the award winning Mike King, who many of today’s riders knew well.
Henry has photographed numerous Panathlon competitions in recent years, including last years London Final in the Olympic Park, so has seen first hand the benefits that the charity brings to disabled young people across the country.
“Panathlon gives disabled youngsters the chance to play competitive sport against each other when a lot of the time they don’t have those opportunities in school,” said Henry.
This year’s ride built on a successful first Panathlon Tour of the Cotswolds, last year where eleven photographers raised more than £2,000 to support our first ever swimming competition at Stoke Mandeville earlier in the year.
Panathlon Chief Operating Officer Tony Waymouth said: “It was fantastic to see the guys brave the elements to take on our third Panathlon Tour. The event is getting bigger and better each year, with more support from across the photography profession.
“The money they’ve raised really makes a difference and helps to create opportunities for disabled youngsters across the country, which many of the guys have seen first hand. I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of our cyclists from everyone at Panathlon. We look forward to seeing you again soon.”
You can support their fundraising page here –https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bikecotswolds
