Cyclists raising funds for Sir Bobby Robson's cancer charity set off from St James' Park as fans paid tribute to another Toon manager who lost his life to the disease. Kevin Keegan, 75, died on Monday following a battle with stage four cancer.
Tributes at St James' Park
Flowers, shirts, scarves and other memorabilia have been left outside of the stadium as a tribute to the former Newcastle United player and manager. There has also been calls for a statue and the renaming of a stand following his passing.
Three Days for Bobby ride
On Wednesday, cyclists taking part in the annual 'Three Days for Bobby' cycle ride for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation left from their usual starting place - the Sir Bobby's statue at St James' Park. They were surrounded by tributes to Kevin Keegan.
Organiser Stephen Hay, a Northumbrian Water project manager from Sunniside, Gateshead, said: "This is our 15th Three Days for Bobby bike ride and it just becomes more meaningful every year. We're all football fans, mostly Newcastle fans, and we began the ride because of Sir Bobby. Along the way though we've all lost loved ones to cancer and there are people who should be on the ride with us now who are no longer here. It's especially meaningful that we're able to start the ride from St James' Park surrounded by tributes to Kevin Keegan. We're all feeling his loss."
"We began this fundraising for Sir Bobby and now it's also in memory of King Kev and everyone we’ve lost in the intervening years to cancer too. We know the money raised is doing something incredibly important and, when the Sir Bobby Robson Institute is completed, all the riders and everyone who has supported us will be proud to know we’ve played even a small part in funding the work there."
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is a cancer research charity named after former Newcastle and England manager Sir Bobby Robson. He battled cancer five times and died of the disease in 2009.
Route and fundraising
The route of the annual Three Days for Bobby bike varies. This year the ride is 160 miles long and ends at the home of PSV Eindhoven, another team managed by Sir Bobby. In total 21 cyclists, as well as support drivers, have come together from across Tyneside and Teesside for the ride. All of the funds raised will go towards construction of the £30m Sir Bobby Robson Institute on the site of the Freeman Hospital.
Construction of the new institute, which is fully funded by the charity, has just begun. The aim of the institute is to provide cancer treatment which will benefit around 3.5 million people living in the North East, North Cumbria and North Yorkshire. The initial £20 million needed to complete the Sir Bobby Robson Institute has been raised by long-standing supporters and fundraisers and a group of generous founding donors, including The Barbour Foundation. The total raised for the institute is currently £26.5m.
Anisa Rahim, Campaign Officer for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, waved the riders off and said: "Fundraising like this is the bedrock of our Foundation and we’re always grateful for that support. Anyone who sponsors the Three Days for Bobby cyclists will be supporting fundraising for the new Sir Bobby Robson Institute and enabling even more cancer drug trials in our region. It's a disease that affects everyone in some way and Stephen and his fellow cyclists have all been impacted by it. Thankfully, we are making progress and improving treatments, and we’re thankful for anyone who contributes to help us continue our work."
