Podium finish for Ennis man after 31 hours in saddle

AN Ennis man has completed a mammoth ultra-cycling race of 804km, taking second place after a gruelling 31 hours non-stop in the saddle.
Noel Cusack took part in the Joe Barr 500, an 800km race around Donegal and Northern Ireland with a three-person crew following behind to give him food and hep with navigation along the way.
He described the race as an “epic battle”, which saw him break his previous 800km record by more than six hours.
The race started in Derry at 9.23am on Saturday, June 12, with each competitor leaving at three minute intervals.
“We raced over to Donegal before tackling all the coast line and mountains areas before finally sprinting through Sperrin mountains in Derry to finish,” Noel told The Champion.
“The riders cannot race together, we have to be a certain distance apart from each other until you make your move to overtake or pull away if possible,” he said.
His support crew kept him fed every hour while he continued to cycle, and he burnt approximately 19,000 calories over the course of the race.
“I try consume 400/500 calories per hour if my body allows that intake. I have trained for over the year to allow my body to adapt to eating and drinking while racing.”
This was Noel’s fourth year taking on the challenge, coming in third last year.
“I needed to put in a performance that reflected my years of hard training and all the long hours, 17 hours a week, missing out on a lot family events.
“Last year I finished third but was disappointed with the time I achieved as it didn’t reflect on my ability and hard work in training.
“This year my one goal was to do it in 32 hours, which I would have to be at least six hours quicker.
“We finally achieved that with finishing well under 31 hours 37 minutes, 6.5 hours quicker than my personal best but I had to dig deep. My body will take a lot longer to recover from this one, but we’ve done it.”
Recalling the race, he said, “I started second last and battled to the front over the course of the first day.
“I was locked in a battle with another rider for second position for most of the race before finally making a move on the Sperrin mountains, 200km from the end, and finishing approximately 15 minutes ahead of him by the finish.”
Noel’s support team was made up of Dermott Smyth, Alan Coyne and Hedrick Ketelaar while Liam Cleary AutoWorld supplied a vehicle.
“These people give up their time to experience the journey and to get me to the finish as quickly and safely as possible,” said Noel.
He also has a special word of appreciation for his partner Martina Clancy who was watching nervously from home.
The race had live media and a tracker following them along, with plenty of support from those cheering on the roadside as well as Noel’s home fans following his progress online from county Clare.

A video of Noel crossing the finish line can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/TeamJoeBarr/videos/303604408136804