TEAM DONEGAL OIL has just come safely home in the Race Around Ireland in Trim, Co Meath, in fifth place overall, with Rentwise/ Ted’s Bike Shop one place behind.
The four-man Team Donegal Oil (pictured above by Jason Black) of Sean McFadden and Arthur McMahon from Letterkenny, Convoy’s Gavin Harris and Falcarragh native Michael McGarvey completed the 2,143 kilometre trek, which began on Sunday afternoon, in a provisional time of 80 hours and two minutes.
That’s an average speed of 27.44 km per hour (records are measured on average speed as the course changes each year).
It involved working in a relay fashion in pairs, with two riding and two resting, non-stop. The event started and finished in Trim, with an clockwise rotation of the country.
The four-man event was won by Over the Hill, a cycling club from Watergrasshill, Co Cork, made up of Michael O’Driscoll, Emmet Fennell, Colin O’Brien and  Brendan Coakley in a time of 71 hours and 37 minutes, which is an average speed of 30.66 km per hour.
Second place went to the Average Joes – Sean Kelleher, John Fallon, Alan Nugent and William Watson based out of Maynooth, Co Kildare – in 72 hours and five minutes, average speed 30.46.
Team Donegal Oil took up the event to raise money for Donegal’s Austism Family Support Group and the Mark Anderson Budapest Fund. To donate, please click here.
In the two-man event, Rentwise/ Ted’s Bike Shop, made up of Eunan Quinn from Ballybofey and Ted McCaffrey of Donegal town finished second in a provisional time of 80 hours and 25 minutes (27.31 km per house average), which was enough for sixth overall.
The two-man event consists of one man cycling at a time, changing at the duo’s discretion.
Another Donegal team, TÃr Conaill Wheelers, made up of Gerard Callaghan and Michael Russell from Letterkenny are expected to finish on Thursday evening. At the last check at Villerstown, Co Waterford, they were fifth in the two-man event and 17th overall..
Barry Tinnelly and Rowan McMahon of The Rossi, from Rostrevor, Co Down, won the two-man event in 79 hours and 23 minutes.
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