Hugh hopeful of bike ride return
A former world cycling champion and broadcasting legend is crossing his fingers an annual bike ride will be able to take place this year.
Hugh Porter MBE hopes Ride around the Wrekin will go ahead after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 80-year-old, who won four world individual pursuit titles and a Commonwealth gold medal, has been a participant in the event each year since its inception in 2015 – and one of the routes is even named after him.
He is also a patron of Compton Care, which organises the event, carrying out fundraising events for the palliative care charity.
Mr Porter said he was hopeful the event would be able to take place on May 16 and spoke about what it meant to him.
He said: “I just enjoy going down there and being with all the people who take part each year, with my wife and I also giving out the medals at the end.
“You get to meet some lovely people and hear their stories, which is really rewarding, and it’s great that they ride the event to raise money for such a great cause.
"That’s the reason why I’m hoping above hope that this can go ahead this year and I don’t see why we shouldn’t with the way things are moving with the vaccine.”
The event sees cyclists from across the West Midlands, Shropshire and beyond take on three distances – the 27-mile Hugh Porter Challenge, the 55-mile Compton Care Classic and the 100-mile Banks’s Epic.
Mr Porter said he had trained as best as he could for the event, with lockdown currently preventing him from going out on his bike, but added he was still keeping positive.
Visit comptoncare.org.uk
