Cyclist in his 60s dies while taking part in London to Brighton Bike Ride
- A man in his sixties has died while taking part in a London to Brighton Bike Ride
A cyclist has died near Gatwick Airport while taking part in the London to Brighton Bike Ride.
The man, in his 60s, died in Smallfield, Surrey, on Sunday morning. His next of kin have been informed.
The annual 54-mile bike ride from the capital to the seaside town is a flagship fundraising event for the British Heart Foundation and is the oldest charity cycling event.
The race began on Clapham Common and finished at Brighton Beachfront, with thousands taking part to raise up to £750,000 for the heart charity. It was temporarily halted while emergency services tried to help the man.
A post-mortem will be carried out to determine the cause of death and police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
An accident at Smalllfield in Sussex on the London to Brighton charity bike ride brings it to a temporary halt
The race began on Clapham Common and finished at Brighton Beachfront, with thousands taking part to raise up to £750,000 for the heart charity (Police at the scene on Sunday)
The annual 54-mile ride raises money for the British Heat Foundation, who said their ‘deepest sympathies are with the rider’s loved ones’
Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, which organises the ride, said: ‘Our deepest sympathies are with the rider’s loved ones.’
A spokesman for Surrey Police said: ‘Officers were called at 9.56 this morning by the South East Coast Ambulance service whose crews were responding to a medical emergency on Redehall Road in Smallfield, involving a cyclist who had been taking part in the London to Brighton cycle ride.
‘The cyclist, a man aged in his 60, sadly died at the scene. His next of kin have been informed.
‘Road closures were put in place and Event Marshalls redirected the route for remaining cyclists. The road closures have since been lifted and all roads are open.
‘We are appealing for any witnesses to this incident to come forward to help our investigation into the circumstances.’
The tragic case is not the first time that cyclists taking part in charity rides have died.
In 2021, Pathushan Sutharsan, 20, an architecture student at the University of Brighton who was fundraising for the people of Yemen, crashed into a lorry after skidding on a steep gravel tack.
A female cyclist died during the Coast to Coast ride in 2019 on the descent of the Wrynose Pass in the Lake District.
Source: Read Full Article
