20th August 2013
As part of a new feature on ytfc.net, the club will profile a fan doing their piece for charity.
Today we feature Chris Medland who will be tackling the toughest Tour de France climbs in the Pyrenees Mountains next month for charity.
 
Chris, a former season ticket holder and YTFC Supporters Club player who now works as a Formula One journalist for sports broadcaster ESPN in London, is riding over 425 miles through the Pyrenees to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Chris is taking on the challenge for his mother Jace, from Horton near Ilminster, who is currently fighting cancer for a third time, and in memory of Sandra Jeffries who passed away following her battle in March 2011.
 
“I was originally going to do the London to Paris ride,” Chris said. “But a change in the Formula One calendar made that impossible, so I went for the even harder ride! If you’re going to ask people to sponsor you, it should be for something really impressive shouldn’t it?
 
“Macmillan does great work supporting cancer sufferers and their families, and while I was powerless to do anything the first two times my mum was diagnosed, I felt this time round I could make some sort of contribution.
 
“The training is going OK but there’s only so much you can do in England to prepare for climbs over 2000m. I’ve had a bit of a break from it to be at the opening few games of the season but now I’ve got a training ride lined up through the Alps from Zurich to Milan ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. I often train in my Yeovil shirt so the Green and White will be seen at Monza next month!”
 
As long as he raises the minimum amount required, Chris will be completing the ride from September 15-20. There have been and will continue to be a number of fundraising initiatives in and around Horton, while Chris also has a number of signed items donated by Formula One teams – including Jenson Button’s McLaren team – still to auction off online via his Just Giving page at www.JustGiving.com/ChrisMedland.
If you would like to feature then please email jhealey@ytfc.net