Thomas prepares for seventh charity Tour De France

Ex-Wolves and England footballer Geoff Thomas is riding in his seventh Tour De France this summer to raise money towards clinical leukaemia trials.

The retired player and former leukaemia sufferer will be part of a team to cycle the full 2,200-mile (3,540km) route across 21 days in June and July.

The challenge aims to raise £1m for Cure Leukaemia, with Thomas describing it as the "most gruelling" of his life.

He said: "I first did it in 2005, when I was six months in remission - if I could do it then, what's stopping me now?"

Thomas, who lives in Worcestershire, received nine caps for the national team, but was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2003, a year after he retired.

He subsequently raised millions of pounds for charity, became a patron of Cure Leukaemia and launched his own charity, The Geoff Thomas Foundation.

He said if he could reach the finishing line in Paris in July, setting off a week before the pro riders, it would "eclipse anything" he had ever done on a football pitch.

"I don't really think you can do enough training - it's about getting as many miles in your legs as possible, without fatiguing yourself," he said.

"I'm just aiming to do the first day, knowing that you've got over 100 miles to do - you've got to survive that, and then take each day as it comes."

He described reaching Paris on previous tours as "one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have".

"It eclipses anything I ever did on a football pitch, and I was lucky enough to be involved in some great games - it's just a magical time."

Thomas announced his decision to take part in the event at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, where he met current leukaemia patient Adam Claxton, 42, from Worcester.

Mr Claxton said his own diagnosis the previous year had been "a complete shock".

"I'm a football fan, and I remember Geoff as a player - his career was terrific, he had a great run on the pitch and to meet him off the pitch is an honour," he said.

"What he's doing is inspirational."

Dr Salim Shafeek, a consultant haematologist who previously treated Thomas at Worcestershire Royal, said he was "a real ambassador for people with leukaemia".

"It's unbelievable what he's been doing for clinical research over the last 20 years," he added.

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