The family of a lawyer who died while competing in a triathlon have organised a 450km cycle in his memory.
Daniel Bagshaw died aged 27 in 2012 while competing in an ITU Olympic distance triathlon in Hong Kong after suffering a cardiac arrest due to sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.
His family, who lived in Accrington for more than 25 years, set up the charity Dan’s Trust in 2012, and have been fundraising to promote and fund research into the early diagnosis of cardiac risk in the young and the improvement of treatment methods.
The charity has organised a major fundraising event for 2015 – a 450km sponsored three-day cycle from Aix les Bains in Geneva to Nice from June 18-20.
The course will take cyclists through the Alps with more than 10,000m of climbing ascent.
Daniel’s brother Gary said they are hoping to attract more entrants for this year’s race.
He said: “We raised £100,000 on the ride from Milan on the San Remo race course.
“Since the ride last year we have donated £50,000 to Imperial College in London to fund research into successful cardiac research and we’re also supporting a young disabled swimmer from Accrington in his attempt to reach the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020.
“We’re hoping to get at least 40 participants this year and try to raise £125,000.
“This challenge is not for the faint hearted, it’s a step up from the course we did last year. We’re also hoping to attract some corporate sponsorship for the 2015 event. We want to expand it, and attract more participants and sponsors for these events.”
