A mile in the sky: Charity ride starts on the i360

The Brighton2Brussels Charity Cycle Ride kicks off on Thursday (May 3) at the 450ft-high seafront attraction, where the cyclists will attempt 40 laps around the pod to complete a ‘Mile in the Sky’.

For the Mile in the Sky challenge, the participants will be using bikes loaned by BTN BikeShare, the city's bike sharing scheme.

Tim Caswell, owner of Hourbike, the company operating BTN BikeShare, said: “We are delighted to support such an important fundraising event for the community and wish the riders all the best for their phenomenal trip! Fingers crossed for favourable winds from Brussels onwards.”

The event is organised by the Brighton and Hove Property Consortium (BAHPC), and the company's founder and cycle ride organiser Colin Brace said: “The Mile in the Sky is a really exciting start to this year’s cycle ride and we are very grateful to both British Airways i360 and also BTN BikeShare for their support. We will be flying the flag for VisitBrighton throughout our event to promote Brighton and Hove as a vibrant city and a great place to visit.”

After the i360 challenge, the 40 cyclists taking part in the challenge will head to Brussels, covering 150 miles on the road home, going through Aalst and on to Oudenaarde, up the infamous Koppenberg Hill with a 229m elevation gain, to Bruges, Ypres and finally, Lille.

The cyclists will arrive back in the UK on Sunday (May 6) at 5pm where they will ride through the official finish line on New Road where Fringe City plays host to a variety of performances throughout May.

This is the third year that the ride has taken place in aid of the Mayor’s Charities which this year include Martlets Hospice, Albion in the Community, RISE, Sussex Heart Charity and The Clock Tower Sanctuary. In 2016, the inaugural year of the ride, the Brighton2Paris Charity Cycle Ride raised £30,000 for the Mayor’s Charities and in 2017 an outstanding £50,000.

Mr Brace said: “Our cycle event is open to cyclists of all abilities. It provides a fantastic opportunity to network within the property industry creating new friends and business contacts. We are raising a huge amount of money for these fantastic charities who do so much amazing work within the city. This is our way, for the property industry, working closely with the council and charities, to give something back to the city which we call home.

This event has rapidly grown to become one of the major events on the city’s fundraising calendar.”