A “much-loved” grandfather from west London has died after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a RideLondon event on Sunday (July 31).
Maris Ozols, a 67-year-old father of four, was 13 miles into the Surrey 46 in Cromwell Road, when he collapsed from his bike.
Fellow riders and medical personnel provided immediate treatment to Mr Ozols, but a spokesman from RideLondon confirmed his death on Monday (July 31).
Mr Ozols, who leaves behind his wife, was described as an active man who “died doing what he loved”, according to his son, Martin.
“Maris lived life to the full,” Martin added. “He was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather who refused to get old.”
Since Mr Ozols's death was announced, a fundraising page has been set up in his memory to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
Currently, £320 has been raised by a number of donors, one of which commented “may the wind forever be at your back”.
Katya Ozols, Maris's daughter, set up the page to fund further research to prevent anyone else losing a loved one so suddenly.
Her touching tribute on the page said: “He was a fit and active man, who partook in yoga and swimming several times a week.
“We never saw it coming. He didn't have a history of heart problems as far as we knew.
“As is commonly said or the recently passed, he had a zest for life. Maris really did.
“He was very active, with a large social circle and made the most of every day whether it was visiting museums, exercising participating in community events, spending time with the family or going to watch live music."
She added: “It will take us some time to come to terms with his sudden death, but we hope to contribute to research into the prevention of anyone else having to go through the pain of losing a loved one so suddenly.”
The spokesman from RideLondon added: “Everyone involved in Prudential RideLondon would like to express our sincere condolences to Maris's family and friends.”
Visit the family's My Donate page to pledge in memory of Mr Ozols.
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can set up your app to see all the latest news and events from your area, plus receive push notifications for breaking news.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android .
