A Cockshut Hill School pupil who was never taught to ride a bicycle has set herself the challenge of completing the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46.

Tadala Tobias is taking part in the PruGOals programme, which is working with 500 youngsters aged 16-18 to build their confidence and encourage personal motivation. Cockshut Hill School got involved in the programme through national education charity, the Transformation Trust.

Having grown up in Africa before moving to Germany and being adopted by her current family, Tadala never had the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike.

Despite her skills on a bike being in the early stages, the PruGOals programme has provided her with the equipment and training to complete the 46-mile ride on July 29.

“I decided to do the programme because I wanted to learn something new, because I can’t ride a bike,” she said, during a regional training ride at the University of Sheffield as part of the PruGOals campaign.

“I wanted to be able to learn something new in a few months and make myself feel more confident. I’m very ambitious and I saw this as a good opportunity.

“It will be great to feel more confident and to ride a bike properly. When I was younger I was never taught to ride a bike as I had a really difficult background, so it’s really amazing to get the support from PruGOals.

“My goal for the RideLondon-Surrey 46 is just to be able to finish it and I’m really excited about the chance to ride through London in front of thousands.”

Prudential’s PruGOals programme is run in partnership with charity partners Transformation Trust, Greenhouse Sports, Centre Point, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and Teach First.

The role of the partnership is to empower young people to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential regardless of social or economic background.

In her role as PruGOals ambassador, Dame Kelly Holmes was at the regional training rides to mentor the youngsters and to encourage them on their aspirational journey.

The double Olympic gold medallist had a one-on-one session with Tadala, who has received a bike, training and nutritional advice through the programme.

“It was so nice meeting Dame Kelly Holmes, she’s such a nice person and she’s helped me a lot as we had a really nice chat one-on-one,” she said.

“It’s really amazing for people to actually buy the equipment for us as it’s obviously really expensive and it’s such a nice thing for them to do.

“From where I started, I will be an amazing achievement for me to finish the ride. It’s not every day you get the chance to do something like this.”

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46, part of the world’s greatest festival of cycling, is a 46-mile ride on traffic free roads which finishes on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.

Speaking at the PruGOals event, Holmes said: “I am really excited to be part of the PruGOals programme again. It’s great to inspire these young people to overcome the challenges in front of them and show there are opportunities for everyone, no matter what their background is.”

Dame Kelly Holmes was speaking at the PruGOals training rides, an initiative set up by Prudential to empower young people to drive their ambitions and fulfil their potential regardless of social or economic background. For more information, visit prugoals.co.uk