SWINDON cyclist Kelli Salone will be looking forward to this race weekend more than most as her daughter will also be competing.

Salone’s eldest daughter, nine-year-old Maddy, will be taking part in her first 4X event when they travel to Chicksands BikePark, near Milton Keynes.

Maddy isn’t the only one taking part in competitive action as Kelli, who is the founder of Swindon-based team Dame Cycling, will be participating in the same discipline as her daughter.

Straight from there, the 46-year-old will travel to Portugal alongside her teammate Ami Grindly to tackle the Pampilhosa Da Serra UCI C1 downhill race in what it set to be a hectic weekend. “It’s a busy weekend and it is really busy leading up to it as well. Not only do I have to pack the van with the race gazebo, I also have to pack all my kit ready to go straight to the airport,” she said. “I guess she (Maddy) hasn’t really had a choice in whether she’s shown an interest in cycling or not, as soon as she was able to ride I had her on a bike.

“She’s really excited. You rarely get little girls who race, you need to make it fun so there is no pressure.”

The 46-year-old, who lives in Hunnington, also has a remarkable story of her own. Four years ago she was involved in a car accident which left her with a hairline fracture in her lower back.

Despite the injury, the mum-of-two chose to get back in the saddle after three years away.

“It basically hurt my lower back and I have a hairline crack in my lower disc. For three years I spent a lot of time going backwards and forwards to doctors,” she added.

“I was trying really careful with what I do, shoving tonnes of pain killers down my neck and then in the end, the doctors and surgeons said I had to live with it.

“I thought I’m not going to let my back tell me what I can or can’t do anymore and since I’ve taken that attitude it has got a lot better.

“The first year-and-a-half after (the accident) I was really depressed, I didn’t think I would be able to race again.

“When I am doing it, I don’t really focus on my back. I do appreciate that I am still able to compete with the young ones at my age.”