RideLondon death: Cyclist Stephen Green dies in event

Cyclists waited for ambulance teams to reach Mr Green, who died at the scene

A man has died while taking part in the RideLondon cycle festival.

Organisers said Stephen Green, 55, from Reading, collapsed on the lower part of the ascent of Leith Hill - Surrey's highest point - on Sunday, during the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100.

The "mass participation" event follows the route from London to Surrey made famous in the London 2012 Olympics.

Mr Green received immediate medical attention but died at the scene. The cause of his death is not yet known.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 said he was a keen cyclist who rode in the event in 2013.

He had taken part in the FreeCycle event in central London on Saturday with his wife and children.

He was riding on Sunday with a friend to raise money for the children's charity Action A-T, which funds research for the rare genetic disease Ataxia-Telangiectasia.

In a statement, Mr Green's wife said he had died doing something he loved.

None of the emergency services were able to confirm a report that he died from a suspected heart attack.

Organisers said the cause would be established by a post-mortem examination yet to be carried out.

Another cyclist, 36-year-old Kris Cook, died after collapsing during the same event in 2014.

Mr Cook had a cardiac arrest at Newlands Corner, near Guildford.

'Hardest part'

BBC journalist Douglas Marshall, 42, was taking part in the ride and was just behind where it happened.

He said Leith Hill was the hardest part of the route.

"We were stopped on the hill and everyone had to move over for an ambulance car to get past," he said.

"Some cyclists had been helping him and people were pretty frantic. As we went past, I saw the man on the floor having CPR.

"Someone said they'd been doing it for 15 minutes at that point. This was before the air ambulance had arrived.

"People were talking about it on the ride and somebody said they diverted the route around Leith Hill afterwards. It's very sad to hear they couldn't save him."

The man received immediate medical help, organisers said

A spokeswoman for Surrey Air Ambulance said emergency teams received the alert at about 11:00 BST and a doctor and paramedic tried to help the man. Surrey Police said they also attended the incident near Dorking.

South East Coast ambulance service also sent paramedics.

Organisers said the RideLondon welfare team were helping the rider's family.

They said the route was designed for a wide range of abilities.

Box Hill and Leith Hill have average gradients of 5% and 6.5% respectively.

Leith Hill rises from 52m to a 203m over a distance of 2.3km and Box Hill rises from 74m to 194m over a distance of 2.4km.

More than 25,000 cyclists - including club cyclists, celebrities and amateur riders - took part in the amateur sportive.

The event saw riders go from the Olympic Park in east London, through Leatherhead, Oxshott and Esher before finishing on the Mall.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson hailed it as "the greatest mass-participation cycling event in the world".

The cycle ride follows the route through Surrey made famous during the London 2012 Olympics