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| Gay Howard |
We got great news from Kay Howard last night. "We are delighted to say that we have found David McCann's bike this evening," she said. "Yesterday, we made out posters which included the pictures of David's bike that were on the irishcycling.com website, including Gay's contact number and offering a reward for it's return".
"On Saturday afternoon we got a phone call from a man living in the Naul who seen our poster in the shop in Naul village saying he had found the bike last Sunday and said he had the bike at his home. We have made contact with David to tell him the good news and we now have the bike here in Stamullen ready for him. It looks to have suffered no damage at all. So, great news."
Both Gay and Kay Howard are inspirational when it comes to volunteering and their commitment to cycling is second to none. They are both behind the successful Stamullen M Donnelly Road Club and they promote numerous cycling events in the Meath / north Dublin area as well as contributing to many other events around the country. Gay Howard has also a long history with the Rás, both as a rider and managing the neutral service car. When news of McCann's lost bike in the Naul area during last week's final stage, the Howards set about helping to trace the lost bike and, after seven days, their efforts were repaid.
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"RACE THE RÁS" A BIG SUCCESS
Race the Rás organiser Eamon O’
Muircheartaigh has spoken about the success of that this year’s Race the Rás
initiative, saying that it has exceeded the targets set beforehand in terms of
fundraising for charity.
Speaking to Irishcycling.com at the end of the An Post Rás, the former GAA
player enthused about the project and said that it would be repeated in twelve
months time.
“It is only now the scale of what we have done is starting to hit home,” he
said in a video
interview. “We have raised 110 thousand Euro thus far, and
already people are asking us if we will do it again next year, saying that they
would love to do it with us.
“I think we’ll definitely do it again next year. We had such a buzz this
year. The fact that we knew every day that the actual Rás, the professionals
were chasing hard behind us, drove us on to push us even harder than we thought
was possible to get to the stage end before they did. There was that little bit
of a challenge there as well to keep it competitive.”
A total of 137 cyclists took part in Race the Rás, with 22 of those joining
O’Muircheartaigh in doing all eight stages. The GAA players who took part were
Ollie Canning and Sean O’Domhnaill (Galway), John Maughan and Maurice Sheridan
(Mayo), Paul Earley (Roscommon), Tony Griffin (Clare), Barry Foley (Limerick),
Mick Galwey, Ger Power, John McElligott and Killian Burns (Kerry), Sean Og O
h’Ailpin, Seanie McGrath, Brian Corcoran and Kevin Murray (Cork), Dan
Shanahan, Brendan Landers (Waterford), Charlie Carter and Brian McEvoy
(Kilkenny), Kevin O’Brien (Wicklow), Anthony Rainbow, Brian Lacey, Bryan
Murphy (Kildare), Graham Geraghty and Evan Kelly (Meath), Declan Darcy, Coman
Goggins, Senan Connell, Ciaran Whelan, Paul Clarke Dublin) and Declan Browney
(Tipperary).
He said that he has a real respect for the cyclist who raced the An Post Rás as
a result. “It is the hardest thing that any of us have ever done. We were
saying that every night after each stage. Considering how tough it is, I don’t
think these cyclists get enough credit from the media for what they are doing
day in, day out. For us, it was about survival, whereas these boys were actually
racing it.
“It is just a phenomenal sport, very tough, physically demanding and you have
to put 100 percent in every day. So hats off to all these lads who completed the
Rás.”
O’ Muircheartaigh has been very happy with the response to the fundraising,
and hopes that more will come in over the next few weeks. Donations are possible
via the website mycharity.ie or at www.racetheras.com/donate
.
Watch Video: Click
Here >>
STAGE WINNER McCANN LOSES BIKE
Sunday was a day of very mixed
emotions for David McCann. The Giant Kenda rider went clear in a break 40
kilometres into the final stage of the An Post Rás, then dropped Tobyn Horton
(Team Motorpoint) on the penultimate ascent of the Black Hills climb. He soloed
to the finish and won the final stage, soaking up the applause of the crowd and
adding to his previous list of Rás successes.
Unfortunately the day also saw a
significant loss when the spare bike on the roof of the team car fell off ten
kilometres before the finishing circuit. The bike was seen by others, but when
his brother Cormac McCann drove back after the stage ended, it couldn’t be
found.
Its most likely location is between
Garristown and Springhill.
“The frame was identical to the
frame I was racing on,” said McCann. “It’s a blue/black Giant TCR advanced
frame, with a square shaped diagonal down tube and built in seatpost. It has
SRAM Red components, a black and yellow rear Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheel with a
PowerTap hub, plus a very distinctive RIDEA TT chainset, which may be the only
one of its kind in Europe.”
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| McCann on a frame identical
to that on the bike which was lost. |
McCann is understandably keen to get the bike back, and is hoping to contact
whoever found it. Anyone with information can reach him at removed
.
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| An identical rear wheel to
that which was on the bike |
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| The distinctive chainset on
the bike |
