This week, 12-year-old Ben Jones, a rider from a British Cycling Go-Ride Club in Manchester, had the experience of a lifetime when he took to the boards at the National Cycling Centre to race against Great Britain’s most decorated Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy.
It was all part of a series of challenges that Sir Chris – or ‘Father Chris’ – is completing with Evans Cycles in the run up to Christmas. For the second challenge in the series, Ben and Sir Chris competed over three laps of the velodrome. The multi-Olympic champion was at a disadvantage, being given a child-size HOY bike for the race.
Watch the video above to see who crossed the finish line first!
Ben attends the Go-Ride sessions at his local club, Manchester Triathlon. He said: "Doing the race with Sir Chris was awesome, I really enjoyed it.
"Our whole family has been inspired by Sir Chris. I've watched him win races for as long as I can remember, on the telly or at the velodrome, we loved watching him race."
Evans Cycles are now asking everyone to submit their challenges for Father Chris, with the three best being completed (and filmed) in a few weeks. To get involved, just submit your challenge on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #FatherChris by 24 November.
Evans Cycles is an official partner of Go-Ride, British Cycling’s flagship programme for young people, providing over 1,500 HOY bikes for Go-Ride Coaches to run coaching and racing sessions across the country.
