A seven-year-old British girl is the youngest cyclist to conquer one of the toughest challenges of the Tour de France – and did it all with her teddy bear.
Miriam Goode, with mum Miranda and sister Poppy, ten, spent a month training to climb Mont Ventoux in the Provence region of southern France.
Mont Ventoux, known in cycling circles as the ‘Beast of Provence’ is 1912 metres high.
The sisters, from Bath, Somerset, rode small ‘Team Sky’ bikes – and Miriam took along her favourite toy ‘Bear Bear’ as a mascot in her back pocket.
On completing the challenge, she was met with applause and cheers from other cyclists at the summit.
Both girls set off early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day and arrived at the top of the mountain within two hours and twenty minutes.
Miriam said: “I enjoyed the challenge and that people were so amazed and taking photos of us.”
Poppy added :”The best bit was going through the woods and getting to eat lots of sweets to keep up our energy.”
Their mum cycled alongside and their dad Jonny was in a support car close behind.
Dad Jonny said: “We are so delighted with both Miriam and Poppy’s efforts. Both feel extremely proud of what they have achieved and loved the fact they were the youngest cyclists on the mountain!”
He added: “Monkton is a school where we encourage all the children to participate in as many sports as possible, whatever their level and ability.
“As well as the traditional team sports, we want the children to have the opportunity to experience Triathlons and Biathlons, learning to love exercise and making it part of their daily lives as they grow up.”
