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Bristol to Shrewsbury – 113 miles
Tuesday 9 June 2009
Pippa Wilson, who joined the Be Number 1 LEJOG cycling team in Okehampton yesterday morning, may be forced to pull out of the event after she suffered a knee injury on the third leg, from Bristol to Shrewsbury, today.
“I have an injury that started on my ankle and moved up to the knee area,” said Wilson - who won Yngling Olympic gold with Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb in Beijing last year - after the team pulled into Shrewsbury, following a touch over nine hours in the saddle.
“I’m struggling to bend my knee and I can’t really walk. It’s pretty painful, to be honest! Hopefully it’s not my tendons, but I can’t risk making it worse. I would love to have cycled the whole way up to John O’Groats, but I just can’t afford to get injured as I begin to sort out my future campaign.
“I have been sailing the Laser Radial for the past two months, which has been a good experience and I have learnt a lot. But I am not big enough for the Laser and I have decided to do the 470, which suits my size better. I am trying to find the best option for me and the Laser is not it.
“It’s going to be a big few weeks in terms of sorting out my plans, but I have really enjoyed the past couple of days with the Be Number 1 LEJOG team. And it has also been fantastic to be reunited with Sarah and Sarah for the first time since we received our medals – OBEs in their case and an MBE in mine – from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in February. They are great girls and we have had a really good laugh together. It helps when you know each other so well and get on so well together.
“We had a lot of fun doing our presentation at Ashton Gate Primary School in Bristol this morning, when we spoke to about 400 children. It was brilliant to talk to them and they had plenty of questions for us. How did we get into sailing? When did we start? What do we wear when we are sailing? And has the boat ever sunk or capsized?!
“Sarah Ayton brought along her two gold medals again and the kids were allowed a second each to have a look at them before passing them on! And they cheered us to the rooftops when the cycling team departed for Shrewsbury. I’m sure that the pupils will look back at the workshop with happy memories and I hope that we were able to point them in the right direction by highlighting the links between health, diet and exercise.
“As for the day’s cycling, it all went pretty smoothly, my injury notwithstanding. At 113 miles, it was the longest leg so far and only the final day from Inverness to John O’Groats, which is about 120 miles, will be longer. The terrain was a bit hillier in the morning, but it was reasonably flat in the afternoon and we just pounded out the miles. Crossing the Severn Bridge was awesome. The sun was shining and the view was wicked as we cycled into Wales.”
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