Patient wins sponsorship to cycle the Pyrenees for charity

Tompkins, Knight & Son Optometrists in Northampton has sponsored a patient to cycle 268 miles through the Pyrenees to raise money for cancer charity Bloodwise.

Darren Pape, 39, will fly to France on May 24 as part of the ‘Green Army’ – a team of cycling fundraisers who have raised more than £200,000 for charity.

They will take on the four-day ride from Carcassonne to Barcelona, including the Port d’Envalira, the highest paved road in the Pyrenees at 2,408m.

Brian Tompkins, owner of TK&S Optometrists, has supplied his charity racer with specialist contact lenses and Maui Jim sunglasses for the ride.

Tompkins said: ‘This will help protect his eyes from harmful glares from both the road and the sun and give him excellent peripheral vision.’