A DUNFERMLINE man has gone the distance for charity after losing two loved ones in the space of 12 months.

Kenneth Rogers’ dad passed away from kidney cancer in 2017 and his grandmother lost her fight with adenocarcinoma this year.

Determined to raise money in their memory for Kidney Cancer Scotland, he joined 15,000 other amateur cyclists and pedalled in soaring temperatures for nine hours in the L’Etape Du Tour, one of the stages in the famous Tour de France.

Kenneth, who trained for seven months, raised £1,100 for the charity and said: “After my dad passed away, his battle with kidney cancer was described as ‘one fought with great fortitude’.

“I think those words will stay with me forever and it is that description that inspired me to take on such a challenge.

“I thought it would be an amazing experience and when I wanted to do something in memory of my dad and grandmother, this event immediately came to mind. I knew it would be a real challenge and would push me hard. It’s been a great test and experience for me personally.”

L’Etape gives riders the chance to complete 169km of a Tour de France stage and this year the route went from Lake Annecy in the south east of the country, near Switzerland, and across the mountains to the resort of Le Grand-Bornand.

Kenneth’s preparations included several mountain bike events as well as his daily commute to work and he admitted the challenge was “every bit as hard” as he imagined, adding the final 20 miles were the toughest.

He said: “I was running on empty approaching the summit of the final climb and 1.5km from the top I wasn’t sure I was going to get over it. I was very glad to reach the summit and then it was downhill all the way to the finish.

“My legs were not too bad afterwards but I was generally a bit stiff after nine hours on the bike. My total time in course was 10.5 hours as there were large queues at the feed stations due to the number of people taking part.”

Karen McNee, from Kidney Cancer Scotland, said: “What Kenneth has done here is inspiring. L’Étape Du Tour is such a long and difficult challenge, so we’re hugely proud of him and for supporting us with his fundraising, in memory of his father and grandmother”.

Kidney cancer is the seventh most common cancer in adults in the UK, with over 12,000 new cases diagnosed and 4,252 deaths from kidney cancer in 2014.