Rugby youngsters win national award for London to Paris fundraising cycle

Two determined 12-year-old girls from Rugby have received a national award after cycling from London to Paris and raising £15,600 for charity.

Iris Williams and Esmae Pinnock took on the gruelling five-day, 250-mile, challenge between June 29 and July 3 to raise funds for disability charity Sense in honour of Iris’s disabled big sister Mia, 19, who has cerebral palsy and was born with no eyes .

The girls have now been jointly named Fundraiser of the Year at the Sense Awards 2026.

Iris and Esmae, who have been friends since they were three and went to primary school together, wore yellow cycling tops emblazoned with their team name Rocket Twins - after Mia’s middle name, Rocket - for their adventure, which began at the London Eye.

From there they cycled across the South Downs to Newhaven, caught a ferry to Dieppe and pedalled through Northern France to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Along the way they battled brambles, steep hills and busy traffic in both London and Paris.

The girls were accompanied on the ride by Iris’s mum, primary school teacher Fran Condry, 43, and family friend, Tina Downie, 57, who is an experienced cyclist.

Iris’s grandad, retired bishop Ed Condry, 73, followed by car as their support driver.

As Iris and Esmae cycled, more and more people heard about their ride on social media and sponsorship from complete strangers began to roll in.

Iris said: “I’ve never won for a big award before and I’m really excited.

“When I reflect back, I still can’t believe we cycled from London to Paris.

“I don’t know any other 12 year olds that have done that - it’s quite unusual.

“We did so much training, I didn’t ever feel like I was going to give up.

“But on the second day of the ride, when we were going across the South Downs, there was one really steep hill that everybody was puffing and panting up.

“I didn’t stop pedalling because I knew if I did, it would hold up the others behind me.

“And we had a rule that if you put your foot down on a hill, you had to go back the bottom and start again.

“As we got closer to Notre Dame in Paris, Esmae and I kept saying this is the last five miles, this is the last mile, this is the last 100 metres.

“When we got there, it was really incredible and it was also a big shock that we were at the end and we’d just done the last day.

“The money we raised was amazing, especially to think I did that for Mia.

“When I look at our JustGiving page, I can see that nearly 350 people heard about what we were doing and supported us.

“I hope it will help Sense."

Esmae added: “I’m really happy and proud that we made it to Paris and that I’ve won a Sense Award.

“As well as the money we raised through the cycle ride, I hope lots more people know about Sense now.”

Find out more about the Sense Awards at www.sense.org.uk/get-involved/sense-awards