In the press — The Sun
Darren Barker rides Edinburgh to Dover for Ricky Hatton. The Channel is next.
The Sun has covered the first leg of The Longest Round— former IBF world middleweight champion Darren Barker cycling from Edinburgh to Dover in memory of Ricky Hatton, with the English Channel swim to come. Mitch Mottram is part of the crew behind the challenge, and appears in the coverage alongside Tony Bellew.
Read the full article on The Sun ↗What the article says
Barker, 44, has completed the first leg of The Longest Round, riding from Edinburgh to Dover as part of a 2,000-mile odyssey that finishes in Morocco. Every penny raised goes to CALM, the suicide prevention charity Ricky Hatton was an ambassador for before his death last year.
Next comes the hardest part on paper: swimming the English Channel as part of a three-man relay, inside a window between 27 August and 3 September. The green light can land hours before the team enters the water, so the crossing may well happen at night, in cold water and busy shipping lanes.
“Fear, excitement and nerves. But the overriding emotion is that I am relishing the challenge.”
Barker interviewed Hatton for his podcast just days before he died, and has said he feels he owes the challenge to him — and to the bigger picture around men's mental health.
The facts
- Publication
- The Sun (Sport)
- Published
- 26 August 2026
- Leg covered
- Edinburgh → Dover by bike
- Next stage
- English Channel swim, three-man relay
- Swim window
- 27 August – 3 September 2026
- Total distance
- 2,000 miles, Scotland to Morocco
- Cause
- CALM — Campaign Against Living Miserably
Mitch Mottram's role in The Longest Round
Mitch Mottram is part of the team behind The Longest Round, working across the support crew, the live and on-demand media output, and the commercial partnerships that keep the convoy moving from Scotland to Morocco. That covers the support vehicles and logistics on the road, filming and streaming each stage, and bringing sponsors in behind the fundraiser for CALM.
In The Sun's coverage of the challenge, Mitch appears in the photography alongside former WBC cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew and Darren Barker, taken during the ride south towards Dover ahead of the Channel crossing.
Follow the route, the daily diary and the live tracker on The Longest Round hub, see the photography in the gallery, or read more about Mitch.
Support the challenge
Donate to The Longest Round
Every donation goes to CALM via the official JustGiving campaign at justgiving.com/page/thelongestround.
Donate now