A courageous sportswoman from Bedfordshire who had to give up playing football following a kidney transplant operation and then became a world champion cyclist, is embarking on a marathon bike ride to raise money for two charities.
As well as battling through her transplant, Ottilie Quince suffered two bouts of cancer in the years that followed
But the 40-year-old who was born and raised in Luton, will put all that behind her this June when she will set off from the town to cycle back to Majorca where she now lives, covering 2500 kilometres and taking in in seven countries on the way.
Ottilie runs her own cycling business in Majorca and a mechanic she employs there will be her only support for the gruelling cycle ride.
She already has pledges of money, but she is still looking for a sponsor for the support vehicle that will accompany her on her 21 day cycle ride
All the money raised will go to two charities which mean a lot to her – UCARE and The Urology Foundation.
She says it’s her way of thanking the surgeons who have helped her over the years.
Ottilie’s story is truly inspirational; always keen on sports as a youngster, she loved football especially and eventually played for Luton Town Ladies.
She also became a physiotherapist at the club working with the players as well as youth teams.
But in 2006 a routine doctor’s check up led to the shock discovery that all was not well with her kidney.
By the end of the year Ottilie had been told she had “end stage kidney failure” and blood tests had shown she only had 12% kidney function.
Overnight she had been forced to stop playing football and, determined not to face a life on dialysis, the search began for a suitable kidney she could receive in a transplant operation.
Ottilie’s own father, Martin had already donated one of his kidneys years before to his brother, so he was ruled out.
Other family members underwent tests to see if they were suitable and eventually Ottilie’s mum was able to provide a kidney, giving her daughter the gift of life in a transplant operation in 2007
Ottilie had always cycled for fun as a youngster and into her teens, but she she quickly found her “competitive nature kicking in” following the operation and her recovery.
Cycling once more was a way of building up her fitness and it was then that an uncle asked her if she had ever considered taking part in the Transplant Games which exist to promote organ donation and transplants.
As a result she made contact with the GB Transplant Team and won her first race in 2010 in Bath which meant she was in line for a place in the team to compete in the 2011 Transplant World Championships in Sweden.
Cycling was to give Ottilie the focus and joy that transformed her life. As she says herself: “Cycling saved my life, it opened up a whole new world.”
Now for the first time since being forced to stop playing football, she could experience once more the camaraderie between team mates and being part of a sporting family.
She has raced at transplant cycling events all over the world and has chalked up 18 British titles, 6 European and 11 world titles representing Great Britain.
More health problems followed in the years after her transplant.
A cancerous cyst had to be removed from her transplanted and only kidney in 2013 and in 2019 the cancer returned and another operation was successfully performed the following year to remove it.
Despite being told by her surgeon not to undertake any strenuous exercise for 100 days, Ottilie was back in the saddle after 31 days to ride 44 kilometres.
In 2015 Ottilie moved to Majorca where she opened her own cycling store in Puerto Pollenca fixing not only bikes, but the riders as well.
To compete with the many cycling businesses on the island, Ottilie knew hers had to be different and she hit on the idea of using her physiotherapist skills to help the cyclists.
“It means people can bring their bikes in and get them fixed and get themselves fixed at the same time.” she said.
Because of what she has gone through, Ottilie is required to come back to the UK on a regular basis for health check-ups.
Ottilie turned 40 this year and it will soon be 15 years since her kidney transplant.
Ottilie has decided that following her next check up this summer, she will then cycle back to Majorca and in doing so raise money for the two charities.
Her plan is to leave Luton on June 10 and spend the next 21 days cycling back to Majorca. Her own Grand Tour, Vuelta A Casa – The Ride Home.
She says other cyclists are welcome to accompany her along the way.
You can support her at: https://t.co/3JfX12dEmC
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