Preston North End manager Simon Grayson has helped launch the 2016 version of Football to Amsterdam, a cycle ride run in conjunction with the Football League that raises money for Prostate Cancer UK.
Next year's ride will be the fundraiser's fourth staging, and the charity has targeted raising £500,000 to help beat a disease which kills one man every hour.
Earlier this summer, a 250-strong peloton, including former international football stars Terry Butcher, Matt Holland and Luther Blissett and riders representing clubs in the Football League, raised more than £350,000 by cycling from London to Amsterdam.
Grayson also took part in honour of his close friend Stephen Garbett, who died in September last year, and raised over £42,000 with his North End team of riders.
"To ride in memory of my close friend, Stephen, and to do it with his son and some other great lads was an emotional journey," said Grayson. "I won a medal for getting Preston to the Championship, but the medal I received for completing the challenge meant so much too.
"Together we raised £42,555 and to come to the research centre and see first hand what that money can fund is fantastic.
"It's especially poignant to see that the amount the boys and I raised could fund a completely new area of research that could be pivotal in changing the lives of so many."
Prostate Cancer UK wants 500 riders to take part next year, with participants having the choice to start the 2016 ride from the Olympic Park in London or Barnsley's Oakwell Stadium in Yorkshire.
Pascal Lemesre
