ILKLEY-based cycle wear brand Fat Lad At The Back is partnering with a group of determined cyclists fundraising for a new cancer centre in Leeds. Maggie’s Yorkshire will provide support to people with cancer, and their friends and families.

FLAB, a community-spirited business is supplying 41-year-old rider Robin Dow and his team of like-minded Yorkshiremen with kit, enabling them to complete all-weather training and participate in some amazing fundraising challenges.

Participating in the Fat Lad At The Back Sportive (75m, May 7), Tour de Yorkshire (100km, April 30), Yorkshire Struggle (108 miles, May 21), the Coast-to-Coast (150 miles, June 24) and Ride London (100 miles, July 30), the Ride4Cancer Team aim to raise as much money as possible to support the development of Maggie’s Yorkshire, to be built in the grounds of St James’s Hospital in Leeds.

Robin Dow and fellow cyclists Martin Dobson, Andy Lowe, Glenn Gudgeon, Mark Kestell, Mark Bedford, Steve Hardcastle and Warren Wilman, all from Yorkshire, have each individually been affected by cancer. Robin’s wife Harriet, who is 40, has battled metastatic breast cancer which spread to her lung, followed by a separate diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

Lynn Bye, creative director at Fat Lad At The Back, said: “We are a community brand at heart and when we heard of Robin’s drive to raise money for a new Maggie’s Centre in Leeds we naturally wanted to support. Robin’s own story is a powerful one and, as a Yorkshire business ourselves with a passion for supporting people to live active and enjoyable lives, providing him with kit was a straightforward thing to do.”

Robin Dow, of the Ride4Cancer Team, added: “I cannot thank Fat Lad At The Back enough for supporting us as we ride to raise money for Maggie’s Yorkshire. My own wife, Harriet, has battled cancer over a number of years, and each rider in our team has some experience of this terrible disease. Everyone affected by cancer needs somewhere to go when they feel claustrophobic, empty and sad, and I hope Maggie’s Yorkshire can become one such place.”

Ben Feely, centre fundraising manager at Maggie’s Yorkshire, said: “Thank you so much to Fat Lad At The Back for donating the kit and getting behind Robin and his team. They are taking on an amazing set of challenges and we could not be more grateful for everything they are doing for Maggie’s. We rely entirely on donations which is why support from people like Robin and local companies like Fat Lad at the Back is so important to us. Together, we can help build a new centre which will provide support to anyone affected by cancer across Yorkshire.”

Robin Dow and the Ride4Cancer Team can be sponsored via a JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ride4Cancer2017