South Yorkshire cyclists reach their £50,000 fundraising target for charity

South Yorkshire cyclists reach their £50,000 fundraising target for charity

3 January 2017

A team of charity cycle riders from south Yorkshire have topped their fundraising target of £50,000 after tackling a tough route through northern Europe.

The 13 riders covered 400 miles in a five day ride in September 2016 which took them from Berlin in Germany to the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

The annual Tour of Europe ride is organised by the South Yorkshire based award winning property firm, Dransfield Properties Ltd. 

The riders have supported Action Against Cancer (AAC) and Bloodwise (formerly Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research) this year  – a third of the funds raised every year is also donated to other charities and groups nominated by the team of riders through the Dransfield Foundation.

A donation of £10,000 has also been given this year to CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). It’s the second year the team has supported the charity in memory of Hull teenager Jamie Loncaster who lost his life to a rare and undetected heart condition.

Jamie’s father Graham is a former colleague of some of the riders from the Hull-based construction company, PDR.

Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties Ltd, said: “We are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported our charity bike ride this year. It means such a lot to all our riders and our charities to have the support of so many people.

“We covered a lot of miles this year and the route does get tougher as we get further into northern Europe but we have a great team who are focussed on completing the challenge and raising as much money as possible for our chosen charities.”

The annual Tour of Europe ride started in 2007 taking a route from London to Paris. In the last seven years the riders have covered more than 3,500 miles through six different countries – they’ve stopped off at Lyon, Marseilles, Portofino, Rome, Dubrovnik, Trieste, Munich, Berlin and this year’s finishing point, Copenhagen.

The annual Tour of Europe ride started in 2007 taking a route from London to Paris. In the last nine years the riders have covered more than 3,500 miles through six different countries – they’ve stopped off at Lyon, Marseilles, Portofino, Rome, Dubrovnik, Trieste, Munich, Berlin and this year’s finishing point, Copenhagen.

The riders cover a leg of their journey every year with the aim of getting back to London by 2020 – since the annual ride was founded more than £400,000 has been raised for charity through the fundraising efforts of the team.

The money donated to Bloodwise will help support the Trial Acceleration Programme and at AAC it is helping to support ground breaking research programmes headed by Professor Justin Stebbings in London. The research focusses on developing new diagnostics and treatments to improve the survival prospects and the quality of life for millions of cancer sufferers worldwide.

To see more pictures from the 2016 Tour of Europe please visit the Dransfield Properties website at www.dransfield.co.uk or you can like Team Dransfield on facebook or follow the cyclists on twitter @teamdransfield

Next year’s ride will see the team ride cover a 400 mile route from Copenhagen to Oslo in Norway.

Pictures show: The Team Dransfield riders at this year’s finish point in Amalienborg Square in Copenhagen and the cheque presentation to AAC with Mark Dransfield and Hilary Craft from AAC.

The 2016 riders were:  Mark Dransfield, Andrew Malley, Paul Dransfield, Dave Maughan, Jeff Thomas, Lee Newsham, Steve Wilson, Richard Marshall, Dean Draper, Tim Downing, Matt Elliott, Mark Yardley and Tony Gibb.  Support team John White, Paul Anderson, Tim Read.

For further information, contact:

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