Lecturers from a Horsforth-based university will cycle nearly 500 miles across Europe to help young people.

As Yorkshire prepares to host the Tour de France’s Grand Depart, the two lecturers will be taking on their own cycle challenge in aid of the Lord Mayor of Leeds’s charity appeal.

Kirstie Grace and Nina Quinlan, from Leeds Trinity University’s Department of Sport, Health and Nutrition, will join a small team of pro-cyclists to cover nearly 500 miles over six days from April 29 until May 4.

The six-day cycle will start in Leeds’s twin town of Dortmund, in Germany, before cycling to another of Leeds’s partner cities, Lille, in France.

Cyclists will then return to the UK by taking an overnight ferry to Hull. Kirstie and Nina will then join other riders as part of the Lord Mayor’s charity ride from Hull to Leeds where a reception will await them at Temple Newsam House. As part of the celebrations, a Family Fun Gala Day will also be held in the grounds of Temple Newsam House.

The Lord Mayor’s Leeds Offers Fun For The Young (LOFFTY) charity aims to provide fun activities for young people in the city during and after school, at weekends and throughout the school holiday.

Kirstie said: “I am both excited and nervous about the challenge ahead. Although I consider myself to be reasonably fit and active, it will be the first time I will have achieved this distance on a bike and exercised for six full days in a row. Hopefully the beautiful scenery as we pass through the Ardennes will help me along the way.”

Nina added: “I am what’s commonly known as a ‘nutty cyclist’ already, so I’m really excited about opportunity to combine my passion for cycling with fundraising for the Lord Mayor’s charity.

“Ensuring that teenagers who are disadvantaged are given the same opportunities for achievement as the rest of the population has been a core part of my working life, and I am delighted to be able to extend this to the younger age group through supporting the Lord Mayor’s LOFFTY charity.”

Students or staff should contact Shelia King at s.king@leedstrinity.ac.uk if they are interested in joining in at the last leg, from Hull to Leeds.