Andy Devaney
Science in Sport Ambassador Amy Hudson is set to become the first female to cycle every single stage of the men’s Tour de France route… including the transfer sections.
Amy’s epic challenge will begin on Friday 27th June, with her aim to complete the endurance test 29 days later, on 26th July. With just one rest day scheduled, the 6,400 kilometres challenge will be Amy’s longest endurance test yet since she began cycling in 2020 to help her overcome her mental health struggles.
SiS spoke to Amy about the challenge and the reasons for her wanting to undertake such a mammoth task.
Tell us about the challenge that you are about to undertake.
“I am cycling every stage of the Men’s Tour De France, as well as the distance of each of the transfers.
“Normally, the teams would get a bus between the different stages, but I’ll be riding those as well. It’s a total of roughly 4,080 miles, which is about 6,400 kilometres. On average, it’s about 220 kilometres a day.
“I decided I was doing this before they announced the route, but now that they have, this has over 3,500 kilometres worth of transfers, so I am actually riding twice as much as the pros!”
How much money are you aiming to raise, and for which charity?
“I am doing this for Shout, a brilliant mental health charity who offer a 24/7 text service for people in need of support.
“When I started cycling, I was really unwell mentally. I was working as a mental health Nurse, and I know the impact charities like this have. The goal is to raise £10,000 for a great cause.
“I started cycling four years ago, and while I do endurance races, I am not part of a professional team, so being the first female to undertake this challenge will be a big test for me.”
For those who don’t know, how did you get into cycling?
“I was working as a mental health nurse, and I was really struggling with my own emotions. I have always struggled with anxiety and overthinking, and I used exercise and running to help with that, but when I was at uni, I suffered with an eating disorder. It meant that when I was running, it wasn’t for the right reasons; it was to earn food.
“I was really underweight, I didn’t have a period, and I was very unhealthy. The reason I went into nursing was to help people like me with eating disorders, and then when Covid hit, my job got a lot harder with everything moving virtually and not having the support of the team in the office and I started to struggle a lot more to the point where I couldn’t work anymore.
“Lockdown resulted in a complete breakdown. I felt really really low, to the point where I didn’t want to be here anymore.
“Then one day, my husband came home with a bike for me. He knows I love being outside, and he hoped that this would help me to get better.
“Going out on the bike was the only time that I felt a little bit of happiness. The more I rode, the more I wanted to see how far I could ride.
After a month of having the bike, I decided to ride to Wales, which is 160 miles, and I did it in one day. It made me feel like I’d accomplished something. I think I had something in my head of people thinking I couldn’t cope with things, but I wanted to prove that I don’t just give up easily.
“Cycling really helped me to want to be here, and it really helped with my eating disorder. With cycling, I’ve put on 5 kilograms, and I want to do this challenge to show people not to give up.
“It’s a happy ending to something that was really hard. With the endurance rides I always tell myself that nothing will be as bad as what I went through in my head. When I’m struggling on the bike, I’m just grateful to be happy and I use that motivation to get me up the hills!”
For people going through something similar to what you went through, what would your advice be?
“Before I started cycling, I wasn’t massively sporty. I was just a regular person. You don’t have to do these massive, stupid challenges like me, but I’ve never regretted going for a bike ride. You always come back feeling much better.
“Sometimes the hardest thing is putting your kit on to go. It gives me the headspace I need, especially in the world we live in nowadays, it gives you time away from your phone and can really clear your mind.”
Why did you choose Shout as the charity for this challenge?
“Shout is the main 24/7 text service, and they help all mental health problems. You don’t need to be diagnosed to get help, which makes it really accessible.
“Their text service is 24/7 and I think sometimes the idea of picking up the phone and calling someone is really scary, so you can just text the number and someone will immediately reply and direct you to the right support.
“They’re not a massive charity compared to others, and I wanted to do it for a charity that maybe doesn’t have as much funding as some of the bigger ones.”
For endurance challenges like this, how important is it to get the fuelling right?
“It’s literally like an eating competition. If you don’t fuel right, it will end the ride. I’m carb loading already, and you’re not just fueling for that ride, you’re fueling for the recovery and then the next ride.
“I’ve got a massive box of SiS stuff, their new Oat Bars are great, and the BETA Fuel is literally the best!”
To donate and help Amy reach her £10,000 target, you can visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/a-c-a?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
