An Post Team Connacht Finish A Close Second in Race Around Ireland

After 68 hours 38minutes of non stop cycling covering 1350 miles and climbing over 75,000 feet over some of Ireland highest peaks the An Post Team Connacht finished a creditable second in the inaugural Race Around Ireland ultra endurance cycling event. The event started and finished in Navan Co. Meath and was the first race of its kind to be held in the British Isles and will surely not be the last with a great buzz in all the towns and villages on route.

DCU in association with sponsors Clarity conducted scientific tests on the 4 An Post cyclists throughout race to see what effects Ultra endurance Sports has on the human body. The research that will evolve will be a first as this type of scientific research has never been undertaken before anywhere in the world.

The Race Around Ireland was a time trial consisting of 1350 miles on open roads, taking in magnificent scenery and passing some of Ireland’s most famous landmarks. The severity of the course took its toll on the individual riders with only four individuals finishing the event. Included in the list of non finishers is the worlds number one ranked ultra endurance cyclist Fabio Biasiolo. Biasiolo is a true legend of ultramarathon cycling. He is a former Italian MTB Champion who has entered the Race Across America (RAAM) 11 times. Last year he completed is 1,000,000th kilometre by bike!

The An Post team had a very shaky start with their Police escort bringing them the wrong direction out of Navan resulting in a significant amount of time being lost which put pressure on the team from the start. A couple of simple navigational errors and other problems through out the first two stages caused the team to fall over forty five minutes behind by time station 3 at the Giants Causeway. The navigators found it very difficult to locate, never mind read the road signs throughout the North of Ireland. Navigational issues combined with complete electrical failure, loss of radio communication, 2 tyre blowouts in the follow vehicle and the team been held up by late night revellers as they evacuated the pubs and clubs around queens university tested the patience of both the riders and the crew.

The team knuckled down on stage 4 and quickly moved into second position on the road and started eating into the lead being held by Team Prior no Experience led by the infamous Sky TV presenter Graham Little.

However all of the minor hitches added up to give team no prior experience an unassailable lead. The An Post Team Connacht managed to reduce the lead to 15 minutes on the road but each time they got close Team No Prior Experience managed a great effort to extend the lead. The An Post team never gave up and threw all their cards on the deck from Youghal County Cork to the finish. The four riders Padraig Marrey, Daire Mooney, Noel Brady and Michael Brady rode the last 18 hours of the race with no rest in the pursuit of Team No Prior Experience but never managed to reduce the deficit. Nevertheless all involved were very pleased with the result and will be back next year to try and improve on their 2nd place.

In the meantime check out the team’s blog and photos at www.teamconnacht.com. The team would like to thank our main sponsor An Post and all our associate sponsors Marrey Bikes, Foys laundry (Sligo), Local branch of the Communication Working Union Westport and Corrib Oil and to all the crew who gave up their time for the team.