ONCE he gets into the blazing Cuban sun, 60-year-old York taxi driver Daniele Gorin will be taking no passengers.

That is hardly surprising given that Italian Daniele, who lives in Swarthdale, Haxby, will be on two wheels – cycling 216 miles around the tropical island to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Centre.

He will be the oldest of the Yorkshire contingent who at their own expense will be flying 4,500miles to take part – and many of them are already calling him “grandad”.

But a lot of the cyclists are likely to trail in the wake of superfit Daniele, who in his youth competed in top amateur level road racing.

His rigorous daily training will ensure that he is ahead of the field on the nine-day challenge, starting on November 15.

Already his colleagues at Streamline Taxis in York are stumping up the cash to send him on his way.

He needs to raise at least £2,700 for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre and in only ten days has so far accumulated £400.

Daniele said the idea of raising cash for the centre at St James’s Hospital in Leeds came to him because he often transports cancer patients there and back for treatment. He said: “You get to know them and understand what they are going through first hand.

“My own dad, Umberto, died of cancer aged 73, and I was also inspired to take part in Cycle Cuba by my close friend Franca Tomasini, president of the York Area Italian Society, who has been diagnosed with lung cancer.”

The money raised for the centre which diagnoses and treats cancer patients in a catchment area with 2.6 million people will go towards £10 million needed to advance its medical research, buy the latest generation of equipment and provide more home-from-home comforts for patients, their families and friends.

If you would like to pledge support for Daniele, visit his website at justgiving.com/danielegorin