Charity cycle team gear up for the latest leg of their Tour of Europe

Charity cycle team gear up for the latest leg of their Tour of Europe

5 September 2013

Members of a charity cycle ride team fielded by the South Yorkshire company Dransfield Properties Ltd are gearing up to set off on the latest leg of their annual Tour of Europe challenge later this month.

This year the 16-strong team of MAMILS (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) are aiming to cover a tough 420 mile route, cycling from last year’s finish point in Dubrovnik and heading along the hilly Adriatic coastline to Trieste in Italy.

Since the annual ride started back in 2007 the route has covered more than 1,860 miles and raised an impressive £256,000 for charity.

This year is the seventh leg of the tour and an extra day’s cycling has been added to make it the most challenging route to date with six days on the bikes, more miles to cover and a tough and mountainous route to navigate.

Along with the regular members who’ve joined the ride every year the team is also welcoming some new faces who will be adding their pedal power to raise funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and St Andrew’s Hospice in Grimsby.

Starting on Sunday 15th September, the team will start clocking up the miles as they make their climb towards Trieste. The first day will see the riders navigate their way through the small, picturesque villages and notorious tourist traffic in Dubrovnik and head for the coast.

After tackling the intense traffic, hairpin turns and narrow winding coastline along Route 8, the team will arrive in Trieste on the afternoon of Friday 20th September.

The charity cycle ride was originally founded by brothers Mark and Paul Dransfield in 2007. Mark is the Managing Director of Dransfield Properties Ltd, based in Barnsley, and Paul heads the construction firm PDR in Hull. 

The team aim to complete a leg of their journey every year returning to London by 2020 and this year’s ride marks the halfway point in their journey.

Mark Dransfield  said: “It’s great to have some new riders joining us this year as well as welcoming back many who have been on the team since the very first ride took us from London to Paris in 2007.

“We try to add a bit more of a challenge every year and with an extra day on the bikes and quite a few extra miles to cover its not going to be an easy one this year but we’re determined to raise as much as we can for the charities that we are supporting.”

To follow the team’s progress please like Team Dransfield on facebook or follow the cyclists on twitter @teamdransfield using the hashtag #tourofeurope2013. You can also visit www.dransfield.co.uk

To support the team visit the fundraising page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Dransfield2013TheMamils

Pictured are Mark Dransfield and Andrew Malley from Dransfield Properties Ltd who will be joining 14 other cyclists on the Tour of Europe on September 15th and last year’s team who went from Rome to Dubrovnik.

For further information or to arrange media interviews contact Amanda Holmes on 01226 350644 mobile 07747 621902 email amanda.holmes@dransfield.co.uk

Meet the team

From Sheffield: Mark Dransfield, David Simpson, Matthew Rigby, Chris Morrison, Alexander Prince, Philip Prince, Thomas Meagher, John White
From East Yorkshire:  Alec Cammish, Ian Etherington, and Chris Green
From Southport: Andrew Malley
From Lincolnshire: Dean Draper, Tim Downing and Will Downing
From London: Christian Cox

About the ride – the route and the fundraising since 2007

2007: The riders peddled from London to Paris and raised £54,000 Cystic fibrosis trust, British Heart Foundation, Leukemia Research and Sheffield Children's hospital.

2008: The second year took the riders from Paris to Lyon covering a total of 285 miles. The team raised £37,000 pounds which funded a new bone density scanner for the Sheffield children's hospital and research into Hodgkin's and Lymphoma disease at LLR.

2009: The team travelled the 265 miles from Lyon to Marseilles in France. The course took the riders up the notorious Mont Ventoux. They raised £40,000 pounds to fund research into haematology and genetics at Leukaemia research.
2010: The fourth year of the tour took the team from Marseille to Portofino.  £50,000 was raised to support The Children's Foundation, The Children's Hospital Charity and Leukaemia Research:

2011: After Portofino the team cycled 360 miles from Portofino to Rome raising more than £45,000 for the NSPCC, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and The Children’s Hospital Charity in Sheffield.

2012: Last year the team picked up the route in Rome and cycled to Dubrovnik raising more than £30,000 for LLR and the Ryegate pool project at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk