Jonathan Davies pauses Velindre Cancer charity bike ride due to extreme heat

The heatwave in France has caused record breaking temperatures. Credit: Wales Media

An epic charity bike ride by a Welsh rugby legend from Paris to Bordeaux has been put on hold because of the extreme heat across Europe.

The 380-mile Rugby World Cup challenge, organised by former union and league star Jonathan Davies OBE, set off on Tuesday to raise money for Velindre Cancer Care.

Approaching their final few days, Jonathan and this team were due to cycle from Poitiers to Angouleme on Friday.

But with temperatures reaching more than 40°C, the decision was taken to call the ride off for the safety of the participants.

The charity says it will update its supporters on the plans for the next few days.

They had hoped to arrive in Bordeaux for Wales' first game, against Fiji.

On Thursday, the Wales rugby squad moved south from their Versailles training base to the first match venue.

Jonathan tweeted that his phone had broken down "due to heat" on day three of the event. Credit: PA Images

In a post on X, formally Twitter, the team announced their decision, saying: "Due to extremely high temperatures (over 41 degrees) in France, the organisers of the Velindre World Cup Bike Ride have made the very difficult decision to call off Friday’s bike ride.

"Whilst this is hugely disappointing, the health and safety of our riders is of the utmost importance and cycling in this heat would be extremely dangerous.

"This has the full support of the charity and our President."

The Wales team take on Fiji in the first game of their Rugby World Cup campaign on Sunday, with the tournament getting underway on Friday night as hosts France beat New Zealand.

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