On the Beach cyclists pedalling from Manchester to London in memory of colleague

A seven-strong team from On the Beach are cycling from Manchester to London in memory of their colleague Andy Clague.

The Cycle Challenge team, made up of Aisha Anwar (finance), Leigh Buckingham (marketing), Nigel Robinson (commercial), Mark White (supply), Ashley Toplis (IT/security), Zeljko Loncar (IT/security) and David Curran (data) are set to clock up 220 miles from the online travel agency’s headquarters in Manchester to blood cancer charity DKMS’ London office.

The charity provides life-saving stem cell matches for people with blood cancer and blood disorders, which starts with a three-minute cheek swab.

On the Beach’s partnership with DKMS has included an office launch event and swab day, a Beachin’ bake off, Christmas raffle, Great Manchester Run team and more.

Each year ‘The Andy Clague Award’ is given to the colleague who has made an exceptional contribution over the past 12 months, with Clague’s wife Lou presenting the prize to the winning staff member in her husband’s memory.

On the Beach chief marketing and customer officer Zoe Harris said: “In 2018, we lost our much-loved colleague and friend Andy Clague after a two-year battle with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“Despite his bravery, no stem cell donor match could be found on the register. Andy’s story fuels our commitment to supporting DKMS in their vital work and growing the stem cell register to help more people find their life-saving match.

“I’m really proud of all of our cyclists who have trained so hard to get ready for this epic challenge. They’ll get a huge send off from the team and a hero’s welcome when back in the office!”

Lou Clague added: “Andy navigated his illness with such dignity and never lost his sense of humour.

“Even when we were told he wasn’t going to get better, he kept us entertained with his quick wit.

“He loved working for On the Beach, and I know he would be bursting with pride that together we are together doing our bit to stop other people experiencing the utter heartbreak we have – and still do to this day. I’ll be cheering on the cyclists every step of the way!”

The cyclists have raised nearly £9,000 through their JustGiving fundraising page, which has a target of £50,000.