Reaching new heights for Action

Anthony is a British national living and working in Switzerland with his wife Ashley, and their 5-month-old baby daughter Isla. Anthony is lucky enough to use his passion to earn a living through his company, Kudos Cycling, which offers performance-focused training camps and guiding based in the Valais region of Switzerland and also through working for the Haute Route, who organise 5-day and 3-day cycling experiences around the world for amateur cyclists.

He recently completed the Everesting Challenge from his base in Verbier, Switzerland, raising funds for Action Medical Research, and another charity close to his heart. Join us as Anthony explains what gave him the idea and motivation to take on such a brutally physical and mentally difficult challenge.

Well, firstly Anthony, huge congrats and well done on completing your challenge. How did you find it?

Thank you. It was a really fantastic experience and my 6 weeks of focused training paid off. My endurance during the event was great and I really reaped the benefits of having trained so hard and taken all advice I had previously been given, onboard. The support from my friends and wife throughout the training and the actual ride on the day made the whole experience fantastic.

What inspired you to take on the challenge?

During the Coronavirus lockdown, I was seeing all these amazing fundraising events taking place and through spending more time on social media I was also seeing all of the amazing work that front line staff were doing for poorly kids. It was then that I realised that I needed to try to personally do my bit. Deciding to train for the Everesting challenge gave me a focus and a target to train for and also helped me get through the lockdown times; all while raising lots of money for two great charities.

How did you first find out about Action Medical Research?

I was introduced to Action Medical Research by a client I was cycling with. I really like the work they do for sick children including for children with Cystic fibrosis, which my cousin sadly had, making this charity even closer to my heart. Action Medical Research is funding vital research to help improve the quality of life of babies and children with this condition and so I wanted to try and help.

What was the highlight of this awesome challenge?

Tough to answer as there were so many! Undoubtedly the finish, seeing all my friends, wife and daughter as I crossed the line whilst being soaked in prosecco! Other highlights were the 22 friends and volunteers (Sherpas and Base Camp Volunteers) that either cycled a leg of the route with me or fed me at the base camp, seeing the sunrise over the mountains and feeling the warmth on my back, and the main standout throughout the ride was the actual cycling in the dark, with just the stars and the quietness, most likely because I couldn’t see the top and where I was going!

Other than the fact you were riding the equivalent of Mount Everest, what would say was the toughest part of the challenge?

The toughest part was just making sure I was eating and drinking something every 15 minutes, so even when I didn’t want to eat, I had to force it down. That and avoiding the cats running across the road at 5am!!

Were there times you thought you wouldn’t complete it?

No, surprisingly I didn’t have any times when I thought wouldn’t be able to do it. I had done some reading and listening to podcasts on mental strength for athletes so if I did have any thoughts, I felt that I could overcome them. I had a few inspirational words written on the top tube of my bike along with a picture of my daughter Isla taped to my frame to remind me of the causes in case I had any dark moments, but I managed to keep to my ascending timings and my body and mind felt good.

Would you say it was one of your best experiences or greatest achievements in the saddle?

It was certainly the highest and furthest I have ever cycled and the fact I finished it without saying, "I never want to get on a bike again" probably meant it was the best experience I could have hoped to have and one of my greatest achievements. It was made all the better knowing that I had raised over £10,000 at that stage for children’s charities. Now I have managed to raise over £12,600.

Tell us a little about your cycling background?

I moved to Switzerland about nine years ago after a change in career working in an office environment. I had always been into mountain biking being from Yorkshire but it wasn’t until my first summer in Verbier, that I got into road cycling and I joined a group doing a charity bike ride from Verbier to St Tropez. After that, I was hooked! I entered my first few sportives the following year. I saw an opportunity to set up a road cycling company in Valais Switzerland, which in my opinion is one of the best most underrated places to cycle. Being a ski instructor in the winter, there is a lot of cross over between road cyclists and skiing and it was the perfect opportunity to build a client base and set up Kudos Cycling.

Where is your favourite place to ride?

I am very biased and will have to say Switzerland! The region of Valais in Switzerland is especially unique with undulating vineyards, high alpine cols and beautiful nature. It is an amazing region for all abilities of cyclists and you don’t always have to be climbing uphill. It has Tour de France climbs so you can tick those off your list as well as local Swiss sportives like the Haute Route Crans-Montana and the Gran Fondo Valais. The microclimate provides beautiful cycling conditions from May to mid-October.

Who are your cycling heroes?

No real cycling heroes, but I have a lot of respect for all professional cyclists, men and women, who dedicate a lot of time and effort in following their dreams. It’s a really tough sport at the top.

Finally, other than being a father to your gorgeous little girl, what’s your next big challenge?

The next big challenge is working with a cycling company called the Haute Route to help sell amazing cycling experiences for other people, whether that is for personal motivation or raising money for charities, as well as running Kudos Cycling.

At the time of publishing, Anthony has raised an astonishing £12,600 for the two charities so it leaves us with nothing more to say than thank you so much for raising an amazing amount of money to fund vital medical research to save and change the lives of babies and children, and for sharing his experience with us. We’d love to see Anthony at an Action event soon, where he will be welcomed with open arms!

You can sponsor Anthony by visiting his fundraising page.