Melksham cyclists in olympic legacy ride

THE Olympic legacy ride, which will see 20,000 cyclists take to the streets of London and Surrey, will be held on Sunday 4th August. Local mother and daughter, Diana and Maddie Malling (who both work for Sainsbury’s in Melksham), will be taking part in order to raise funds for Ovarian Cancer Action.

Along with famous London landmarks, the route will also take in the infamous Box Hill, that was part of the Olympic road race route.

Diana said, ”Both Maddie and I put in for a ballot place for this ride last year. It was me that was really keen to take part as I knew what an iconic event this will become and wanted to be able to say I took part in the first one. This will be the cyclist’s version of the London marathon, a massive fund raiser and will go on for many years.

“Maddie put in for a ballot place so she could keep me company and help me out along the way. I was devastated when Maddie got a place and I didn’t!

“I so wanted to take part though that I took a charity place with Ovarian Cancer Action. They are still a small charity that does some really fantastic work, with both research and raising awareness. Even if I had been awarded a ballot place I would still have chosen a charity to raise money for.

“Maddie and I have put an enormous amount of hours into training (Maddie being young, slim and fit and me being none of those things meant I have had to put in many more training hours than she has). I am hoping that is going to be enough to get me round the course – that and Maddie poking and shouting at me!  I will also be thinking of all my colleagues at work that have sponsored us and hope that they will be watching Maddie and me on BBC1 and that we can make them proud.”

Pictured: Diana and Maddie Malling who are preparing to take on the Olympic Legacy Ride.