THE ACHIEVEMENTS of Evesham Wheeler member Helen Russell were celebrated when guests from the world of cycling and football marked the success of the One Day Ahead team.
The team cycled the whole route of this year’s Tour de France in July to raise funds for Birmingham based charity, Cure Leukaemia.
Team captain, former England footballer and Barnt Green resident Geoff Thomas was joined by other One Day Ahead team members, including Hampton resident Helen Russell to celebrate their achievements both on and off the bike.
The event was hosted by ITV4 Tour de France commentator, Ned Boulting who compered a question and answer session with Thomas who shared his experiences of riding the Tour de France route, his time as a professional footballer as well as beating his battle with blood cancer.
Boulting also ran the auction which saw guests bid for items donated by sports stars including WBA goalkeeper Ben Foster, Lance Armstrong and local cycling star Jess Varnish.
The sell-out event, organised by Evesham Wheelers member Russell, attracted over 120 people and raised over £3,000 on the evening with more money still coming in.
Speaking at the event Thomas confirmed that there would be a 2016 One Day Ahead challenge, which has already raised a significant amount of interest.
After the event Russell said, “The evening was a great success and Geoff and I are really grateful to everyone who came along, got involved in the auction and donated raffle prizes. The money raised will go towards funding clinical trials and research nurses at the QE Hospital, Birmingham”.
The One Day Ahead team have so far raised more than £650,000 and there is still time to donate via www.justgiving.com/Geoff-Thomas-2015 or www.justgiving.com/HelenRussell-LeTour
