Geoff Thomas Awarded at Sports Personality Ceremony

Geoff Thomas with Tour de France team

Former Rochdale footballer Geoff Thomas, who went on to play for England and appear in an FA Cup Final with Crystal Palace, was amongst the host of famous names that received awards at the popular BBC Sports Personality of the Year evening.

Joining the heroes of this year’s Ashes cricket victory on an award winners list that also included Jose Mourinho and Pele, Geoff was commemorated for his own heroics in his battle against Leukaemia and for his outstanding achievement in the summer in completing one of sport’s toughest challenges, cycling the gruelling route of the Tour De France in just 21 days, the same time schedule that the professional bike riders have to perform to. One such professional is Lance Armstrong, Geoff’s idol throughout his challenge who himself has shown great courage in adversity, winning the Tour de France a record seven times after recovering from cancer. Lance has since raised millions of pounds for cancer charities and that is something that Geoff wants to emulate in any way that he can.

Geoff received the Helen Rollason Award for showing outstanding courage in adversity; the award is named after the former BBC presenter who lost her battle against disease, something which Geoff emotionally alluded to in his speech. Geoff was typically modest on the night, preferring to highlight the severity of a life-threatening disease that kills seven out of ten sufferers than to dwell on his personal achievements.

Last summer Geoff gave Rochdale Online regular updates and interviews on how he was getting on in France but one thing remained top of the agenda throughout his three weeks in the saddle, the importance of getting his message about Leukaemia across. When he finished the challenge back in July, Geoff commented on what he was trying to achieve almost as soon as he got off the bike. He said, “I’m delighted with what we have gained for Leukaemia Research so I can only thank everyone who supported us in any way. We hope to have our total surpassed by Christmas so I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve achieved what we set out to do.”

Five months later on and Geoff’s tone has not changed and the total raised through his efforts now stands at more than £150,000. Geoff commented on how lucky he felt simply to have the opportunity to pay back the doctors who helped him and to assist those who suffer from the disease today. He told the Sports Personality audience, “For the rest of my life I just want to get the word out there and try and raise as much awareness and funds as possible. If I could do just a little bit it would be fantastic.”