RIDERS preparing for the 400km Paris Challenge gathered at BCA Blackbushe before embarking on a 40km training ride around the nearby Surrey and Hampshire countryside.

Craig Purvey, chief commercial officer at BCA, was one of those taking part.  He said: “We are all committed to completing the BCA Paris Challenge, so we will be taking regular training sessions between now and the start of the event in September.”

Around 45 riders will take the Paris Challenge in total, along with support crew and vehicles. The event aims to raise funds and awareness for Action for A-T, a charity which funds medical research to speed up the process of identifying a cure for Ataxia Telangiectasia, a rare, genetic degenerative disease of childhood.

The aim is to raise £30,000 to fund research into treating A-T and the team of participating riders features cyclists from BCA and the wider motor industry.  The 400km challenge will leave BCA Blackbushe – the UK’s largest auction centre – in September and will finish in Paris, where BCA operates one of eight French remarketing centres.

The charity has invested more than £1,700,000 in a variety of A-T related research projects around the world.  A-T affects multiple systems of the human body, and health progressively deteriorates causing an overall loss of coordination and muscle control.  Children are usually confined to a wheelchair by around the age of 10 and will need assistance with everyday tasks.

To donate visit:  justgiving.com/actionforAT