BBC Radio 2 presenter Owain Wyn Evans hits the road from Larne on epic 4 Nations Cycle Challenge for BBC Children in Need
BBC Radio 2 Early Morning Breakfast presenter Owain Wyn Evans has set off from Larne on day two of his gruelling 4 Nations Cycle Challenge for BBC Children in Need.
Owain said he was feeling nervous and apprehensive as he faces the longest day of the entire challenge: cycling 108 miles from Larne, around Lough Neagh, in a race against time to reach the evening ferry from Belfast.
Hollywood star Luke Evans revealed Owain’s route on BBC Radio 2 this morning: “Northern Ireland offers no mercy, this is Larne to Belfast... but the LONG way round”.
Leaving Larne, Owain faces the first of three killer climbs he’ll contend with this week, Tildarg in Co Antrim where he will be cycling uphill for over 25km.
Speaking to The Sara Cox Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, Owain said: “I've got a bit of a dodgy knee this morning (…) it's just a thing now we're going to have to monitor and keep an eye on because I've got a killer climb this morning and today is a really long day. So the show must go on, darling.
"You're using certain parts of the body, and you can't cycle with by putting less pressure on this knee. You need to get up out of the saddle, which is a thing that I couldn't do to start with, but now I'm better at standing up on the bike. So yes, a lot of pressure on the old knee, I would say today, Sara.
"We had so much support yesterday, and it was so lovely to see that. We passed schools and they were all out with their Owain banners, if little Owain had known there would be a whole school out cheering for him, he wouldn’t have believed it!”
Larne-based music and arts community hub, The Music Yard, gave Owain a drum roll to send him on his way, a nod to his own passion for drumming and his memorable BBC Children in Need Drumathon challenge in 2021.
As he heads towards Belfast, it will be a nail-biting race to make it to the port on time to catch the overnight ferry to England.
BBC Radio 2, the UK’s most listened to single radio station with a weekly audience of 12.7m listeners (RAJAR Q3 2026), will be bringing regular updates live on air and everyone can follow the action on BBC Sounds and across Radio 2’s social channels.
A BBC TV crew will follow Owain’s journey for an exclusive behind-the-scenes appeal film, Owain Wyn Evans: Four Nations Challenge for BBC Children in Need, which airs on BBC One on Friday, November 20 at 7.30pm.
BBC Children in Need 2026 In Northern Ireland airs on Sunday, November 15, 3.50pm, BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer