Ben Sumner – Gearing up for a triumphant season

As huge cycling fans, Gener8 Finance are pleased to announce that we are sponsoring one of the country’s leading Cyclo-Cross riders, Ben Sumner for the 2015/16 season.

Cyclo-Cross is already extremely popular in Europe, as both a participation and spectator sport, and is rapidly gaining popularity in this country. It is very different to traditional road and track racing, and involves riding over a variety of terrains, including fields and tracks, with competitors having to dismount and carry their bikes over obstacles.

Oxfordshire-based Ben (pictured right), 21, is the reigning under 23 Trophy Series champion, a title he also won in 2014. In addition, he won his third consecutive bronze medal in the under-23 category at the British National Cyclo-Cross Championships in 2015.

Ben’s Under-23 category success was also enough to see him come 3^rd in the National Trophy Elite Men’s Series – we are confident that he is heading for greatness, and at Gener8 we are proud to be supporting him all the way.

Ben rides for the Beeline Bicycles Cyclo-Cross team, which is owned by Beeline Bicycles, Oxford’s leading cycle retailer (www.beelinebicycles.co.uk). The Beeline team is a huge supporter of up-and-coming cyclists in the U.K. and has a stable of talented young riders.

The cycling season begins again in October, and will see Ben compete in the Round 1 of the National Trophy series in Southampton, on the 11th. His main goal this year is to focus on the National Trophy, and win the yellow jersey!

Pre-season training is going well, with Ben recently competing in the Eastern Cyclo-Cross League (www.easterncross.org.uk/race15-16-1.htm) at Basildon Sporting Village in Essex, which he won comfortably, beating the 2^nd placed rider by a full 1 minute 20 seconds!

“For the first race back I was just testing my legs really. I’m going to be focusing on the National Trophy this season, and aiming for that yellow jersey. I don’t think that’s an unrealistic expectation.” (Ben Sumner)

Gener8 will be following Ben’s progress as he continues to compete across the UK and Europe, and we will be sharing his journey with you.

You can follow Ben & Beeline at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bensumner  https://twitter.com/beelinebicycles

Racing to Gener8 some cash!

Paul Stokes training for the L’Etape Du Tour

Gener8 Finance’s newly appointed Managing Director, Paul Stokes, is set to race in the 23^rd edition of L’Etape Du Tour, on July 19^th 2015 in the French Alps, in aid of charities; Help Harry Help Others and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

L’Etape Du Tour was established in 1993 to allow amateur cyclists, such as Paul, to test their legs on the route of one of the mountain stages of the Tour de France. This year’s 148 km course involves over 4000 vertical metres of climbing in anticipated temperatures of 30 degrees – an incredibly difficult challenge.

Beginning in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, the route will take Paul through many scenic locations, not that he will have much chance to take in the views, as he cycles up 4 legendary Tour De France climbs – Col Du Chaussy, Col De La Croix De Fer, Col Du Mollard, and finishing at Ta Toussuire.

When asked why he wanted to do the tour, Paul commented,“I have always loved watching the Tour De France, but the last bike I actually owned was a Raleigh Chopper back in the 1980s. The set-in of middle-aged spread sparked me into action and I saw taking part in a Tour De France stage as the ultimate inspiration to commit to a serious training regime.”

To prepare for the 142 kilometer stage, Paul has been training 5 days a week, with the help of cycle coach Tim Ramsden of Black Cat Cycling. Using a combination of high intensity indoor training and longer outdoor rides, Paul’s training stats include:

• Losing over 2 stones in weight, burning in excess of 97,360 calories.
• Over half a million pedal revolutions on the indoor Wattbike trainer.
• 3800 + training miles

Having recently been out to France on a training ride, he is fairly confident that he has done sufficient training to get the job done.

Paul was keen to use a challenge of this magnitude to raise funds for charity. He asked his 2 boys Dylan (13) and Reece (10) to select the charities they wanted their dad to support. Paul says “I am proud of my boys that they chose not 1 but 2 amazing causes for me to raise money for – Help Harry Help Others (www.hhho.org.uk), and Teenage Cancer Trust (www.teenagecancertrust.org)”.

Help Harry Help Others was started by the incredibly brave Harry Moseley, a young lad from Birmingham. Whilst battling an inoperable brain tumour himself, Harry was inspired to make a difference to all people with brain cancer, by raising money and awareness, making and selling his world-famous bracelets and organising nearly 100 events. Tragically, Harry died in 2011, aged just 11, but his legacy lives on and Paul is looking to raise as much money as possible in his memory.

Similarly, Stephen Sutton was an incredibly heroic young man who, before he died from cancer at just 19, raised millions for Teenage Cancer Trust. Famous for his indomitable spirit, characterised by his trademark “thumbs up”, Stephen’s bucket list of 46 things that he wanted to do before he died touched the nation.

Paul says about the charities “both Stephen Sutton and Harry Moseley were 2 very brave lads, and when I am having a tough time in training, their stories put everything into perspective and give me all the inspiration I need to keep going”.

With such a large challenge ahead, Paul has been supported by British bike designer and supplier, 2X2 Worldwide Limited (www.2x2worldwide.com), the Warwickshire based supplier of the Roux range of road bikes. In addition to the Roux range, 2X2 also design and supply Land Rover branded bikes. Paul is proud to be flying the flag in France, riding a British bike brand.

Paul will be using Make A Donation (make-a-donation.org) to collect sponsorship money. Make A Donation is an on-line charity donation website that passes 100% of sponsorship money to charities with no fees, commissions or deductions made from funds raised whatsoever. Paul comments, “using Make a Donation makes complete sense – not only do my chosen charities bank every penny donated, the people who donate also receive rewards as a thank you for their generosity. It’s a complete win-win”.

If you would also like to support Paul and his chosen charities, please visit http://www.make-a-donation.org/fundraisers/paul-stokes to make a donation. Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about how you can support Paul’s challenge or find out more, call 07557 303333.