Six-year-old boy completes 50km cycle ride for charity

Samuel Whitehead was awarded the Hampshire Road Club Junior Clubman Trophy and voted best young rider in December.

This month he also received the Ports-mouth Cycle Touring Club Titch Award for outstanding achievement by a young rider.

Samuel, a pupil at St James’ C of E Primary School, was given the awards after taking part in the New Forest Autumn 50km Challenge in September and raising £500 for a disabled girl called Widja Deysel.

Samuel’s mother Jo-Anne Whitehead said: ‘Both myself and my husband Paul are incredibly proud of our son.

‘Not only for his achievements but also his generous nature and tenacity, especially as it was his choice to undertake the ride in order to raise money for charity.

‘Samuel heard the story of Widja Deysel, a two-year-old profoundly deaf girl, who is in desperate need of cochlear implants and decided the best way to have some fun and help someone else was to “do a really long bike ride”.’

The keen cyclist is the youngest rider to date to have undertaken the challenge, completing it in a time of 4 hours 30 minutes alongside his father.

Dad Paul is a seasoned Audax rider who has achieved the Super Randonneur status 22 times in the last 25 years.

He said: ‘I am proud that Samuel seems determined to not only follow in my footsteps but has big ambitions to far surpass them.

‘It was an amazing feeling to cross the finish line with him.

‘I am a very, very proud dad.’

Sam, a member of Solent Pirates Youth Cycling, Team Hampshire Road Club and the Portsmouth Cycle Touring Club, said: ‘I am amazed and so happy about winning the awards.

‘I didn’t know I was getting them so I was really surprised and shocked.’

Sam is aiming to do a 100km Audax later in the year to raise more money.

His ultimate goal is to ride in the Tour de France.