A man who died of a suspected heart attack while taking part in the RideLondon-Surrey 100 mass cycling event has been named as Stephen Green, a 55-year-old from Reading.
Organisers of RideLondon, a weekend of cycling events involving almost 100,000 people, said Green’s family had asked them to release his name. He collapsed on Sunday near the start of the ascent of Leith Hill, near Dorking in Surrey, the steepest climb on the 100-mile route.
Green received immediate medical help and an air ambulance was called, RideLondon said in a statement, but he was confirmed dead at the scene. The cause of death has yet to be formally determined.
The statement said: “Stephen was a keen cyclist who rode the event in 2013. Together with his wife and children, he had participated in the FreeCycle event in central London on Saturday.
“Stephen was riding the 100 on Sunday with a friend to raise money for the children’s charity Action for A-T. Ataxia telangiectasia is a rare, genetic and degenerative childhood disease.”
Green’s wife said he had “died doing something he loved”, the statement added. She welcomed any donations in his memory to his fundraising page.
RideLondon added: “All involved in the organisation of the event express sincere condolences to Stephen’s family and friends.”
Green was taking part in the second mass ride of the weekend, in which more than 25,000 cyclists rode from the Olympic Park in east London, across the capital into Surrey, and then to a finish on the Mall, all on roads closed to traffic.
The day before about 70,000 participated in FreeCycle, a more family-oriented ride around a smaller loop in central London. The weekend also included professional races for men and women, and a handcycling event.
A rider died during the 100-mile ride in 2014. Kris Cook, 36, had been hoping to raise £500 for a local hospice. His fundraising page eventually reached more than £50,000.
