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Ex-Premier League star doing seven Ironman triathlons in seven days almost hit by driver who ignored red light

"We could have been killed," said coach accompanying former Southampton player Francis Benali on charity challenge...

A former Premier League footballer who is undertaking seven Ironman-distance triathlons in seven days had a very close call yesterday when a driver ignored a red traffic light and almost crashed into him and the two companions he was cycling with.

Francis Benali, who played more than 300 games for Southampton, scoring one goal, set off yesterday on his Ironfran charity challenge, which will see him swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles and run a 26.2-mile Marathon each day, from Trafford Park in Greater Manchester.

But the Daily Echo reports that the 50-year-old plus  his coach and a support cyclist were almost hit by a driver who ignored a red traffic light.

Coach Andrew Hartley, aged 44, said: “I’ve never had a near miss like it in all my years of cycling.

"I was riding just in front of Franny as we approached a major set of traffic lights which were green when a car shot across the front of us having jumped the red light.

“I literally had to make a 50/50 call to go left or right.

"It was an unbelievably hairy moment – we could have been killed.

“Franny’s back wheel locked up but he swung a left just behind me.

"Thankfully the driver saw us at that moment and slammed on her brakes or we would have been across the bonnet of her car.

"We were very lucky.”

Benali completed the day’s route, spending the night in Nottingham and recommenced his challenge at 6am this morning, his eventual destination this evening being Leicester.

In the coming days he will continue via Bristol, Berkshire and Farnham to finish in Southampton on Sunday, where he will take part in his home town’s marathon before getting back on his bike for the final leg.

It’s the third and final challenge he has undertaken in an effort to raise £1 million for Cancer Research – we featured the second one on road.cc in 2016 when he ran a marathon and cycled 120 kilometres each day between 44 football grounds in England and Wales.

He expects that each Ironman-distance triathlon will take up to 18 hours to complete and that he will consume 10,000 calories a day.

He told the Daily Echo: I’ve been used to eating on the bike but this will be different with the days being an awful lot longer .

“It’s also about getting the timing right. I could be finishing after 10pm and don’t want to be having to sit down to a big meal after a marathon before falling straight into bed.

“It’s a tricky one to get right and hopefully it won’t be an issue but there have been similar challenges that have failed because the athlete hasn’t consumed enough calories.”

In 2014, the former footballer was named the inaugural winner of the Barclays Spirit of the Game award when he ran between all 20 Premier League stadiums within three weeks, raising more than a quarter of a million pounds for Cancer Research.

You can find out more information and sponsor his latest fundraising effort here.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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5 comments

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kil0ran | 4 years ago
6 likes

Franny's a bloody legend - a true ultra-athlete. Not bad for a 50 year-old. As a footballer he was an example of hard work and bravery over talent. Willing to sacrifice himself for the team and a fierce battler. I heard he struggled after he retired and this has given him fresh purpose. 

He might have been a distinctly average defender but in his youth he was a lethal striker, single-handedly knocked my school out of the Hampshire Youth Cup with a hat-trick in something like 1985. There's something in there about re-inventing yourself and finding happiness.

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Rick_Rude | 4 years ago
4 likes

Finally things will be different ! And all it took was a near miss on a footballer! This is the sea change we've been waiting for!

 

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StuInNorway | 4 years ago
10 likes

But . . .  Number plates, insurance and "road tax" would stop "all cyclists" jumping reds . .  so surely the same applies to cars ? . .  Ah nevermind... 

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Kendalred | 4 years ago
6 likes

Scary stuff.  And I'm not just talking about the lack of proof reading!

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CXR94Di2 | 4 years ago
4 likes

So many things could of been distracting the woman, putting on makeup, mobile phone, early morning daze, busy refitting undergarments- who knows   Obviously not paying enough attention to see bright red lights facing her

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