Community

Aitc Cycle Challenge Heading To Cologne

By Richard Morris • 21 March 2018

Albion in the Community is recruiting fundraisers for its latest European cycle challenge.

AITC is holding its fifth international charity bike ride and this year cyclists are heading to the German city of Cologne.

The trip departs the American Express Community Stadium on Thursday 7th June, with cyclists returning to the UK on Sunday 10th June.

American Express is sponsoring the event once again and a number of Amex employees are already signed-up to take part. Others confirmed for the fundraiser include Albion legends Guy Butters and Danny Cullip, who both now work for AITC.

The charity is now asking others to sign-up for the 140-mile challenge.

Money raised by AITC’s annual European cycle challenge helps fund the charity’s many football sessions for people with a disability. AITC now runs 30 of these sessions at venues across Sussex, regularly attended by upwards of 300 people.

These sessions, however, are expensive to deliver – costing between £1,800 and £5,000 year to run, meaning fundraising events like the European cycle challenge are vital.

Registration for the Cologne trip is just £299 per person and that includes full ride support, meals, a return flight from Cologne to London, water stops, a limited edition AITC cycle jersey, three nights’ accommodation, and transfer between destinations.

The group will leave the Amex Stadium on the Thursday afternoon before catching the Eurostar to Brussels. The cycling then takes place over two days (Friday and Saturday) with an overnight stop in Aachen on Friday night. Riders will arrive in Cologne on the Saturday, meaning they have part of Sunday to explore the 2,000-year-old city before meeting for transfers back to the UK.

Emma Brockhurst, fundraising events executive at AITC, is organising the ride. She said, “Our European cycle challenge is one of the highlights of our fundraising calendar and it raises a significant amount of money for the charity.

“Last year’s ride to Amsterdam was one of our most successful to date, but we are hoping this year’s will be even more popular.

“Cycling 140 miles is certainly a challenge, but our event is not just for keen cyclists; previous years have seen people of varying fitness levels successfully take part.

“The money these rides generate not only enables us to keep running the sessions we do, but it also means we can expand our programme and launch new sessions – meaning even more local people with a disability are given the opportunity to play the sport they love.”

For more information, an in-depth ride guide, or to book a place, email: fundraising@albioninthecommunity.org.uk or call 01273 878246.