Charity cyclists head for the Highlands in tough four-day ride

Charity cyclists head for the Highlands in tough four-day ride

9 August 2021

A team of charity cyclists from the award-winning Sheffield property firm Dransfield Properties Ltd are preparing to tackle the 13th leg of their tough Tour of Europe challenge in September.

A total of 6 riders will take part in this year’s challenge which will see them take on a gruelling ride covering nearly 300 miles from Aberdeen to Newcastle. They’ll start the challenge on Wednesday September 1st and finish on Saturday September 4th.

Since the first charity ride in 2007 from London to Paris the team have covered more than 4,800 miles across 15 countries and raised more than £500,000 for charity. This year they’ll be fundraising for St Luke’s Hospice, Action Against Cancer and The Dransfield Foundation.

The annual ride was founded in 2007 by brothers Mark and Paul Dransfield. Mark is the founder and owner of Sheffield based Dransfield Properties Ltd and Paul owns PDR Construction which is based in Hull.

Over the years the charity cyclists have covered punishing routes travelling through Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Portofino, Rome, Dubrovnik, Trieste, Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stavanger.  

This year’s route also will take in Dransfield Properties owned Sanderson Arcade development in Morpeth on the final day of the ride before the charity team complete the route in Newcastle. 

The riders aim to be back in London next year for the final leg of the challenge which will take them down the country from Newcastle to the capital. 

The Tour of Europe bike ride was cancelled last year due to covid-19 restrictions. 

Mark said: “We are delighted to be back on the bikes again this year and looking forward to tackling the penultimate leg of the ride. After so many rides across Europe its great to be back in the UK which definitely makes feel like the finish line is in sight now.

“We like to challenge ourselves with the route every year and this year we’ll be aiming to complete the challenge in four days rather than five so we’re going to have some long and arduous days in the saddle.

“I’d like to thank everyone who had continued to support our charity efforts over the years and hope they will continue to do so this year as we aim to raise money for from line support in some fantastic causes.”

The 2021 Bike Ride 

• Day 1, September 1st: Aberdeen to Dundee (76.52 miles/123km)  

• Day 2, September 2nd: Dundee to Edinburgh (69 miles / 111km)  

• Day 3, Edinburgh to Otterburn (88 miles / 142km)  

• Day 4: Otterburn to Newcastle (35 miles / 56km)  

This year’s riders are Mark Dransfield, Andrew Malley, Mark Yardley, Alec Cammish, Adam Couch and Simon Bland.

The support team is Paul Anderson and William Downing.

To keep up to date with the riders follow the Team Dransfield Facebook page or visit the website at www.dransfield.co.uk and to support their fundraising efforts go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/TeamDransfield2021

Pictures show Team Dransfield during the 2019 ride from Oslo to Stavanger 

For further information, contact:

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