Rugby League Cares are once again heading to the Coral Challenge Cup the hard way on the 2019 UK Red Ride to Wembley.

Twenty three riders, including seven RL internationals and RL Cares staff members Liam Parker and John Ledger, will set off from the George Hotel, Huddersfield, on Monday bound for Wembley.

Over the next five days, the riders will avoid tarmac wherever possible on a gruelling 340-mile off-road that involves 18,000 feet of ascent – the equivalent of cycling from sea level to Everest basecamp.

This year’s ride breaks new ground by bringing together stars of the men’s and women’s games in a high-profile fundraising event for the first time.

England’s most-capped women players Andrea Dobson, Beth Sutcliffe and Kirsty Moroney will be cycling alongside the likes of Challenge Cup final winners Denis Betts, Robbie Hunter-Paul, Keith Senior, Lee Smith, Nathan McAvoy and Chris Tuson.

RL Cares have raised more than £40,000 on the Ride to Wembley in the last two years and are on course to generate over £30,000 from this year’s challenge.

All the proceeds enable the charity to fulfil its important role within the sport: this includes player welfare provision to the professional and semi-professional games and delivering health and lifestyle programmes that are not only changing lives for the better, they’re saving lives as well.

The presence of three women’s RL internationals on the ride demonstrates the wide-reach of the work of a charity which does so much good within the sport.

If you can, please sponsor the riders on their gruelling challenge via their Justgiving pages HERE.

And please make sure you help promote the ride by sharing and retweeting the content that RL Cares and the riders are putting out across social media.

If you’re at Wembley on Friday, the riders would love to see you when they arrive at the RL Legends statue on the stadium concourse around 3pm – that’s when the party starts!

*See more related news at rugby-league.com