The hype and carnival atmosphere of a true World Cup Cycling event will be brought to Navan over two evenings this week when the Race Around Ireland starts on Tuesday 15th September for solo riders and Wednesday 16th September for Teams. Photo: www.youghalonline.com – sport

A local outfit, Team Youghal, are on the starting line along with twelve others in the Team Category. The team comprise local cyclists Ger Flanagan, Tommy Roche, Christy McCarthy, Eoin  Whyte and Kieran Groeger . Team Youghal are supporting the Emer Casey Foundation through the cycle and sponsorship cards are available from any member of the Team. The team are backed up by a Crew of 10 and transport is supplied by Youghal KIA  with their new KIA SOUL

The event is being organised by local personal trainer Alan Heary and being promoted by Navan Road Club.  It is also being run in association with Meath Local Sports Partnership and the Ciaran Maree Cancer Research Fund.  The main sponsors for the event are the Ritz Carlton Hotel with other sponsors like Brookdale Partners and international supplement company ZipVit helping to fund the race.

The event is ranked as the second toughest ultra-endurance race in the World by the Ultra-Marathon Cycling Association.  Only the famous Race Across America is considered tougher. The Race Around Ireland team have been working for a full year to make this event a huge success and are looking forward to bring the start in Navan.

This is the first event of its kind in Ireland and it has attracted the top ultra distance riders in the World including the World Champion Caroline Van Den Bulk and current World Cup leader Fabio Biasiolo.  These champions won’t have it all their own way, however, in this 1350 mile time trial as Irish endurance record holder Joe Barr and local Navan rider Paul Nolan will be fighting for top positions on the podium.

Sky Sports will be on the starting line too, as presenter Graham Little is taking part in the 4 person team category.  The team’s performance will be filmed as part of a documentary, some of which will be shown on his new Sky Sports show “Sporting Ireland”.  The team category will also be highly contested with An Post hoping to take top honours.  The An Post team are also taking part in a ground breaking study by DCU (Dublin City University), which will have them followed by a van that can only be described as something you would see in a storm chaser movie.  Every heart beat, breath and pedal stroke will be recorded day and night and fed back to the van for analysis.

“The start of a race like this is something that everyone should be a part of.  We would love to see as many people come out to support the riders as possible.  It is our hope that the International riders will go home having been treated to the hospitality and craic that Ireland is famous for. Entertainment has been planned for the two evenings.  Navan Town Council has been fantastic and has given us the Civic Space for the start as well as financial help, which will ensure a carnival atmosphere that riders, crew and spectators alike will remember”.

Navan Lord Mayor Joe Reilly, will start the solo race on Tuesday evening at 8pm and the team event at 8pm on Wednesday.  The festivities will start at 6pm both evenings in the Civic Space, Kennedy Road, Navan.  Team cars will be parked during both days at the Civic Space and it will give everyone the opportunity to meet the riders and crew who will take on this very unique challenge.

During the race live updates of the progress of all riders will be found on the race website.  For more information check out www.racearoundireland.com

Click on image to enlarge

The Emer Casey Foundation – leading the fight against Ovarian Cancer

The Emer Casey Foundation is dedicated to providing funding to secure the best independent research to detect early signs of ovarian uterine cancer.  The foundation was established following Emer’s death in 2006 by her family and colleagues in Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors Dublin.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women and is often detected at an advanced stage of the disease resulting in a high mortality rate. This is because the symptoms of ovarian cancer are not recognised immediately, the molecular pathology of the disease is poorly understood and sensitive screening tests are not currently available.

The Emer Casey Foundation now sponsors three Emer Casey Fellows who are pursuing PhD degrees in Ovarian Cancer Research within the Discovery Research Consortium.

A) They will look to develop methods to detect the disease in its early stages by using a novel Serum Antibody Profiling approach.  They have already identified potential signatures in the blood which will allow early detection of ovarian cancer.

B) They will also examine why Ovarian Cancer became resistant to Chemotherapy.  The Discovery Consortium is composed of researchers from several Irish and International Institutions dedicated to carrying out world class research in area of Ovarian and endometrial cancer.

The foundation relies on fundraising to provide this invaluable research. The Foundation is a registered charity and various individuals and societies continue to select it as a chosen charity for fundraising efforts and donations.

www.emercaseyfoundation.com
Charity number: chy 17505