Team Youghal passed the finish line last Saturday 18th September 2010 at 12:48 after 88 hrs 18 mins Cycling. All the cyclists and crew are home for some well earned rest. It was a magnificent experience for all involved and thanks to everyone who supported us. Thanks to everyone for the fantastic support over the past week. Well done to all.

The race around Ireland is far and away the toughest cycling endurance test in Europe and is the World’s second toughest endurance race and in Ireland the cyclists of Team Youghal will have to cover a distance of 1,350 miles travelling through all four Irish Provinces with many steep climbs and sharp descents along the way, from the starting point which began on Tuesday the 14th of September in Navan.
What makes this such a fantastic challenge is the constant flow of the race which runs 24 hours a day from start to finish, with no let up and that overwhelming desire not only to complete the race which is a huge challenge in itself, but to win it and defend  titles!

The race is part of the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) World Cup Series and the race is organised by the Navan Road Club and is sanctioned by Cycling Ireland.

Unlike other cycling races such as the RÁS or the Tour de France, the course is in no way roped off, there are no marshals controlling traffic flow, and there are no planned rest stops or stages in this event.

In terms of a sporting event, this really is up there with one of the toughest tests there is as the relay style strategy of  Team Youghal came into play over the four or five days of constant peddling.
There was a cyclist racing at all times, 24 hours a day, the team entered County Cork via Kerry on Thursday night last and make its way by Mizen Head, on through Schull, Bantry, Skibbereen, through the outskirts of Cork City where the team tackled St Patrick’s Hill and then make its way on to East Cork, through Carrigtwohill, Midleton, Castlemartyr, Killeagh and then through its home town of Youghal where there is one of many time stations.

When you consider that this part of the race is just Cork City and County it puts the 1,350 mile distance into perspective.

The Team Youghal cyclists cycled to raise funds and more importantly raise awareness for the Emer Casey Foundation. Team Youghal cyclists are: Ger Flanagan, Tommy Roche, Christy McCarthy, Brian Fitzgerald, Kieran Groeger, Eoin Whyte, Michael McCarthy and John Twomey.

The team won the inaugural Race Around Ireland eight man team category in 2009 and are back to defend their title this year and hope to improve on our time of 90 hours and 6 minutes.

Team Youghal cyclists Kieran Groeger thanked John Hennessy for the great work and to all our sponsors, the media crew, the drivers, Maurice with the gear wagon, Claude with the campervan, support crew and all the cyclists – for the friendship, support and great craic – in spite of the weather! Thanks to all who sent messages of support – every bit helps. Don’t forget the Emer Casey Foundation!

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The Race Around Ireland have decided on the provisional route for September 2010 and it’s passing through Youghal.
Photos: John Hennessy | Michael Hussey ( Youghalonline.com) Email: news@youghalonline.com

The Walter Raleigh Hotel in Youghal has been named as an official time station and the Hotel has thrown its doors open for the race. Michael Davitt, Hotel Manager, said; “We’re very proud to be supporting The Race Around Ireland and Team Youghal as we see it as being a fantastic opportunity to enhance Youghal as a tourist destination while seeing up close what an extreme endurance race involves and supporting a well deserved local and international charity in the process.” The Walter Raleigh Hotel has made accommodation available for all teams that are competing in the race and also will have a dedicated press room available for the media that will be following the event.

Time Stations will be set approximately 40 to 80 miles apart. At each Time Station a competing team must call into Race Headquarters and report their location and time. This information will be posted on the Race Around Ireland website and it will allow the officials, as well as team fans, to track the team’s progress.

Ger Flanagan from Team Youghal said; “We are delighted that The Race Around Ireland organisers have chosen Youghal as an official time station and also appreciate the support from Michael and The Walter Raleigh Hotel Team  in putting Youghal on the cycling map for this endurance event. Team Youghal are training hard for the event and now that we have the provisional route we can start forming our race tactics to retain the eight man team accolade for 2010. We are still actively looking for sponsors to support Team Youghal and so far the response has exceeded our expectations but there is still a long way to go to reach our target. We are very appreciative of the support received so far considering the present economic climate.  Our involvement in the race will be to raise awareness and funds for The Emer Casey Foundation which is doing very valuable work around the detection and treatment of ovarian and uterine cancer.”

Team Youghal consists of an eight man cycling team with support crew. All cyclists are leisure cyclists who cycle for a hobby and include a Garda, Fire Officer, Electrician and a wide diversity of other professions.

Team Youghal will be competing in The Race Around Ireland which is part of the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) World Cup series which includes other huge endurance races such as The Race Across America.

Unlike other cycling races such as the RÁS or the Tour de France, the course is in no way roped off. There are no marshals controlling traffic flow and there are no planned rest stops or stages in this event. Once the clock starts in Navan at the starting time, it won’t stop until each rider reaches the finish line at the end of the 2,100 km circuit.

Further Information:

http://www.racearoundireland.com/default.asp ,   http://www.walterraleighhotel.com/

http://www.emercaseyfoundation.com/

Ger Flanagan; 024 93358

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

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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