A TEAM of amateur and fun riders from Farnham-based British Car Auctions (BCA) and the wider motor industry gathered at Blackbushe Airport before embarking on a 400km ride to Paris with the goal of raising funds and awareness for Action for A-T, a charity that funds research into a rare childhood disease.

Forty-five riders took the BCA Paris Challenge in total, along with support crew and vehicles. The event aimed to raise £30,000 for the Haslemere-based charity, which funds medical research to speed up the process of identifying a cure for ataxia telangiectasia, a rare, genetic degenerative disease of childhood.

Three days later, the team stood in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower having more than tripled their initial goal by raising £93,436 for the charity!

Craig Purvey, chief commercial officer at BCA was one of those taking part. He said: “We were all committed to completing the BCA Paris Challenge and had trained in advance to ensure we were prepared for this significant test of cycling endurance.

“It is testament to the team’s hard work and dedication that we arrived in good shape having ridden through everything from sunshine to thunderstorms as we crossed the French countryside from Dieppe toward Paris.”

He added: “Well done and thank you to everyone who undertook the BCA Paris Challenge, the riders and the support team, our suppliers and customers who sponsored our efforts and everyone for all their support and kind messages along the way.”

To donate visit justgiving.com/actionforAT.