A team of 14 riders from the Invictus Games Foundation are taking part in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 100 and 60 events on Sunday to raise money for and awareness of injured servicemen and women.

The team of male and female riders from Australia, Canada, the UK, Ukraine and the USA includes Paralympian Steve Arnold, who represented Great Britain in Nordic Skiing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games.

Arnold will be joined by fellow veteran Josh Boggi, Community Liaison Executive at Invictus Games Foundation, who suffered life-changing injuries in 2010 whilst serving in Afghanistan.

Explaining why events such as Ford RideLondon are so important, Boggi said: “Cycling is my freedom. I needed to get some sort of challenge back in my life, some sort of goal to strive towards. This is where I came into handcycling. I got on the bike and fell in love with it straight away.”

Retired US Air Force Major Lisa McCranie, who is also taking part, said: “The beautiful part of all of this is the community and connections that are made along the way.

“We do not get through difficulties in life by ourselves, we need the support of others as we in turn help those around us. I want to participate Ford RideLondon-Essex 100 to represent the Invictus Games Foundation because I believe in the power of sport and community.”

Rustam Rosul is another member of the team. The former Ukrainian border security guard was paralysed during an attack by Russian soldiers in 2014.

He said: “Ford RideLondon has given me an incentive to train more, feel needed and show that nothing is impossible for people in a wheelchair. I can’t wait to see London!

“I cannot fight in the war in our country because I’m in a wheelchair, so I want to support veterans and show that this is how you can live on. We are one big family of veterans of the Invictus Games.”

The Invictus Games Foundation was founded in 2014 and aims to use sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for injured and sick servicemen and women.

The full team of riders from the Invictus Games Foundation participating in 2023 Ford RideLondon is:

• Angelo Anderson (USA) – 100 miles
• Steven Arnold (UK) – 100 miles
• Ross Bender (AUS) – 100 miles
• Josh Boggi (UK) – 100 miles
• James Bourgeois (CAN) – 60 miles
• Merry Garza (USA) – 100 miles
• Rebecca Hutchinson (UK) – 100 miles
• Lisa McCranie (USA) – 100 miles
• Ally McIlroy (UK) – 100 miles
• Oleksandr Prokopenko (UKR) – 100 miles
• Rustam Rosul (UKR) – 60 miles
• Eric Sabourin (CAN) – 100 miles
• Franz Sobek (CAN) – 100 miles
• William Whitman (USA) – 100 miles