• Geoff Cousins, chairman at blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia and quality management provider G&P, and who was former MD of Jaguar UK, has just completed the Cure Leukaemia London 2 Paris charity ride
• He has managed to raise £5,000 while the overall amount raised by the riders will be in excess of £100,000
• Money raised will go towards funding vitally important clinical trials to treat blood cancer

Geoff Cousins, chairman at blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia and quality management provider G&P, and who was the former managing director of Jaguar UK, has just completed the London 2 Paris charity bike ride.

He was one of a group of riders who have just crossed the finish line in the French capital.

The ride took place in September as it is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, which is raising money for Cure Leukaemia. Riders covered up to 80 miles a day in the saddle before crossing the finish line in central Paris.

Geoff himself managed to raise £5000 and is still welcoming donations, while the overall amount raised by the riders will be in excess of £100,000.

All funds raised will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP), a network of 12 specialist research nurses in the UK’s biggest hospitals and a Hub based at the Centre for Clinical Haematology in Birmingham.

The Cure Leukaemia funded TAP enables accelerated setup, patient recruitment and delivery of blood cancer clinical trials benefitting patients within a UK catchment area of over 20 million people.

Geoff, himself, has particular reason for supporting the cancer charity Cure Leukaemia as he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2005.

Geoff said: “Truthfully I did not do enough training and it was tough physically and mentally at times but the camaraderie and support from the group pulled me through – it is a Cure Leukaemia family. It was a great experience to share with the other riders as we crossed the finish line in front of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris.

“More important is the cause that the money raised will go towards – Cure Leukaemia.

“The charity funds ground-breaking work that gives patients access to potentially lifesaving treatments for blood cancer which, unfortunately, still devastates too many lives.

“The national Trials Accelerated Programme is crucial in helping finding a cure for leukaemia.”

Donations are still being accepted on Geoff’s JustGiving page, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Geoff-Cousins. For more information about Cure Leukaemia, visit www.cureleukaemia.co.uk/, while for details of the London 2 Paris bike ride, visit https://www.l2prevolution.com/

You can also watch highlights from the ride at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7RWXSKR8v0