Formula 1 star heads to London as insurance group’s world record attempt begins

The London market has officially begun its attempt to break the world record for the most participants in a static cycle relay.

The EC3 Relay, which begun today (9 July 2024), will see participants cycle at least 1km each in scheduled slots on a static bike placed on a purpose-built stage.

The London market collectively has until 4pm on Thursday 11 July to set the record.

The event was setup by Aventum, which is aiming to raise £50,000 for Cancer Research as part of the record attempt.

Matt Field, chief marketing officer at the (re)insurance group, officially kicked off the event by ringing a bell at 10am.

“From the very birth of the idea to now, there has been a lot of hard work,” Field told Insurance Times, which is the official media partner for the event.

“The marketing team have worked tirelessly to get every single bit put on and make sure we have covered every angle.”

F1 star makes appearance

One of the first people on the bike was Dan Boughtwood, an associate partner at Consilium.

“The legs were burning a little bit, but it is all for a good cause,” he said.

He finished his run just before Formula 1 star Oliver Bearman had his go on the bike at 11am.

“It’s a really good cause and obviously with Ollie coming along it’s going to be very good for morale,” Boughtwood added.

Bearman, who is the son of Aventum chief executive David Bearman, got on one of the bikes at 11am, with him doing a Q&A for fans as well.

David Bearman said it was “good to see the market come together and for a common cause”.

“We compete against our peers and our competitors daily, but now we can all be in one place and raise money for a common cause and a good charity,” he said.

Make sure to keep an eye out for our interview with Oliver Bearman, which we will publish in due course!