Olympic legend Ed Clancy has visited a Swansea Valley school to give a class of lucky children a cycling experience.
The three time gold medal winner and six time world champion visited Alltwen Primary School, near Pontardawe, after the parent of one of its pupils won a competition that saw the whole year four class take part in a once-in-a-lifetime cycling experience with the Olympic legend.
The prize included a morning’s cycling workshop with Ed Clancy OBE and the team from the Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy, followed by a meet-and-greet, photography and question and answer session with the entire school.
Clancy is a three-time Olympic gold medallist for the British track cycling team. He holds six world championship titles and has broken no less than eight world records as part of a four-man, four-kilometre team pursuit.
One of his greatest successes was a spectacular win at London 2012, where he and his teammates twice broke the world record in their bid for a final victory with a time that stood unbeaten for two years.
Speaking ahead of the event, Clancy said: “Encouraging young people to pursue sport, and have fun while doing so, is so important to me – cycling gave me the best experiences of my life and I want others to have the same opportunities to do what they love.
“This prize will hopefully introduce the children of Alltwen Primary School to new possibilities; enhancing and enjoying what I feel should be a life skill (in bike riding) and… who knows, we might find another future Olympian!”
Parent Sarah Hall won the experience for her child’s year four class after buying a special pack of Whole Earth peanut butter from her local Tesco store.
Acting headteacher at Alltwen Primary School, Mrs Herbert, said: “We are all so excited to have won this prize. I don’t doubt that cycling club will be busier than ever! This is such a fantastic experience and we are so grateful to everyone involved in making it happen.”
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