FIVE Hampshire cyclists completed an epic 100-mile cycle ride to raise money for charity.

The Fareham Wheelers took on the challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

Simon Tier led a team of five cyclists through the challenge on Sunday to raise funds for research into the disease that killed close friends and colleagues.

Simon, along with fellow Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club friends David Kemish, Alun Evans, Michael Stevens, and Craig Nolan, were among the thousands of cyclists who took part in this year’s Prudential RideLondon 100.

The ride started at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park before heading out into Surrey and back to London with a triumphant finish near Buckingham Palace.

The intrepid cyclists were raising funds for the Milton Keynes-based charity Brain Tumour Research, inspired by Simon’s loss last year of a close friend who had battled a brain tumour for a number of years.
Craig and Alun have also been affected by the death of two colleagues from brain tumours over the past three years.

The team completed the route in times ranging between four and seven hours, and between them they raised over £2,740 – enough to pay for one day of research at the flagship Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Portsmouth, where Professor Geoff Pilkington leads the UK’s largest team of laboratory-based scientists working towards a better understanding and, ultimately, a cure for brain tumours.

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Simon’s JustGiving page to go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Simon-Tier

The event brings Simon’s personal fundraising to date to more than £24,000 for scientific research into brain tumours which kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer but just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Simon said: “This is a devastating and cruel disease which robs people of more years of life than any other cancer. Despite this it remains woefully underfunded and I am proud to be able to support the pioneering work that is taking place here in Portsmouth.”