A globetrotting fitness fanatic is to take on a challenge for the Nepal earthquake appeal.

Pennine Sports Partnership coach and competitive athlete Rachael Mellor raised money through riders in the Tour de Yorkshire and is also staging a charity ride in the county.

She harnessed the support of the professional male and female cyclists taking part in the event by asking them to sign an official Tour jersey which she will auction online.

Rachael, 51, was motivated to help those affected by the powerful 7.8 magnitude quake due to travelling around Nepal on a two-year world cycle tour that she reported on for the Huddersfield Examiner.

Rachael, of Brockholes, collected the signatures at the end of Saturday’s race in York, where her cycle champ daughter, Amira, 17, competed in the one-day women’s event.

Amira Mellor of Holmfirth Cycling Club
Amira Mellor in cyclocross action

She said: “I went trekking in Nepal over 20 years ago with my partner and we stayed at the Annapurna base camp in the Himalayas, near to where I became pregnant on the trip with my eldest daughter, now 23, who we called Annapurna.

“The country is just really close to my heart and when I heard what had happened I just wanted to do all I could to help.

“I’ve already donated but there is only so much I can do on my own so I thought I’d organise a big fundraising event this weekend.”

Huddersfield rider Gabriel Cullaigh also agreed to sign Rachael’s shirt and she enlisted the support of other top cyclists such as former Holme Valley Wheeler member Ed Clancy.

So far over 6,000 people have died and eight million have been affected as a result of the earthquake, whose epicentre was in the Kathmandu Valley.

Rachael said: “I plan to auction the shirt off on social media to the highest bidder, with all the proceeds going to the Disasters Emergency Committee.

“I ran a Wattbike challenge [on a specialist indoor training bike] for men, women and kids, when the tour came through Holmfirth on Sunday and raised £220.

“I’m also planning to organise a long charity ride through Yorkshire, which will mimic the distance we travelled around Nepal and the area, in the future because the need for donations is not going to go away – this fundraiser is just the start.”

To be in with a chance of owning the signed jersey, watch Holmfirth Cycling Club’s Twitter posts at @cycleholmfirth or search for Holmfirth Cycling Club on Facebook.

Here are some pictures from day two of the Tour de Yorkshire which also featured the women's race starting and finishing in Leeds