IT WILL be pedal power rather than horse power for former Jaguar UK boss Geoff Cousins who will be taking part in the London 2 Paris charity bike ride.
Stratford resident Geoff Cousins – a former blood cancer patient and who is now chairman of Cure Leukaemia – will be among 200 cyclists taking part in the fund-raiser for Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September.
All funds raised will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP), a network of 12 specialist research nurses and a hub based in Birmingham.
The Cure Leukaemia funded TAP enables accelerated setup, patient recruitment and delivery of blood cancer clinical trials.
Geoff, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2005, agreed to the four-day challenge despite not even owning a bike. But now, the former Jaguar MD is riding around 100 miles a week, around Warwickshire, to prepare for the some 320-mile bike ride.
He said: “Cure Leukaemia fund ground-breaking work that gives patients access to potentially lifesaving treatments for blood cancer which, unfortunately, still devastates too many lives.
“Despite the impact of Covid-19 on the charity, Cure Leukaemia announced earlier this year that five new clinical trials will be opened in 2021 so it is vital that networks like TAP remain funded to connect patients with the latest treatments.
“The London 2 Paris bike ride is one of its most popular major fund-raising events and I would urge anyone who can make a donation to please do so, or better still, come and join us on the ride and help raise as much money as possible.”
Around 14,000 people a year die from blood cancers in Britain, and a person is diagnosed every 14 minutes while the prospect rate of survival for many adults with blood cancers is still less than 50 per cent.
With just a few months left before the cyclists head off, Cure Leukaemia is looking to fill the last few available spaces on the event. Participants must commit to raising a minimum amount of £1,500 sponsorship money.
Visit www.l2prevolution.com for more details on the fund-raising challenge and visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Geoff-Cousins to support Geoff.
