Robin Chard, 48, who was raising money for cancer charity, suffered a cardiac arrest about 25 miles into the 100-mile course

A charity fundraising page set up by a cyclist who died from heart failure while taking part in Sunday’s RideLondon-Surrey 100 has had a flood of donations following his death.

Robin Chard, 48, from Bicester in Oxfordshire, suffered a cardiac arrest about 25 miles into the 100-mile course, at Kingston upon Thames in south-west London, RideLondon said. He had been raising money for Cancer Research UK in honour of his father, stepfather and mother-in-law, all of whom died from the disease.

Chard, who died at Kingston hospital despite receiving immediate treatment from fellow riders and medical teams, had set a target of £400 in donations. By the early hours of Tuesday morning, the sum had reached nearly £45,000.

A number of those who left messages on the JustGiving page said they had also taken part in the event and wanted to pay their respects. Chard is the third participant in three years to die following a heart attack during the event.

Chard’s father, Edwin, and stepfather, Bert, both died from lung cancer. His mother-in-law, Sheila, died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Chard himself was treated for Hodgkin lymphoma in childhood.

In a statement released by the organisers, his wife, Vickie, said he had died doing something he loved to raise money for “a cause that was very important to him”. She added: “I’d like to thank everyone who has helped and supported Robin and me, especially the event stewards, the event team and the amazing staff at Kingston hospital.”

His sister, Andrea Day, 43, said: “We are very touched by the kind messages and donations from everyone on Robin’s JustGiving page. As you can imagine, we are all very shocked and saddened by the news of his passing. He was a beloved son, husband, father, brother and friend to so many and will be sorely missed.

“We kindly ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time and keep donating.”

The organisers of RideLondon and Cancer Research UK released statements expressing their condolences.

Chard wrote on his JustGiving page about his personal connection with cancer: “So you can see it’s a bit of a personal crusade, but I’m not riding a white charger, just a bike 100 miles in and around London.”

One online tribute, reported by the Evening Standard, read: “Uncle Robin, so incredibly proud of your efforts in the Prudential 100 bike ride today in London. Sadly, he didn’t make it to the end but he passed away raising money for a charity close to his heart. If anyone can still donate in his memory I know how much he would appreciate it.”

Separately, two cyclists were seriously hurt in crashes during the event, in which nearly 27,000 people cycled a closed-roads loop out of London, into the Surrey countryside and back.

The crashes, which required air ambulances to take cyclists to hospital, caused long delays on the course. One of those hurt was seriously injured after hitting a tree. Organisers put in place two detours to try to clear the crowds, including a major reroute to miss out the Box Hill climb in Surrey.

Organisers said 33 riders were taken to hospital, with seven still there, of whom three were seriously injured. They added: “The Prudential RideLondon medical team is liaising closely with the hospitals and the welfare team is supporting the families of the injured riders.”

The event was part of a weekend of cycling activities in and around the capital. As part of the 100-mile ride cyclists left the Olympic park in Stratford, east London, and headed to Surrey before returning for a finish on the Mall.

Despite the diversions, there were still delayed riders on the course when the men’s professional race, which closed the weekend, took to the same roads on Sunday afternoon. At one point the elite riders, including Tour de France winner Chris Froome, had to be halted for about 20 minutes as the roads were cleared.

