Two Irish cyclists have become the first Irish 2-man team to complete the Race Across America (RAAM) and missed out on a podium place by just 21 minutes.
Declan Brassil and Graham Macken (Ardstone Tayto Park LCRC) reached the finish of the 4940-kilometre race in a time of 8 days, 15 hours and 22 minutes to finish fourth.
The race started in Oceanside, California on the Pacific Coast, took the riders across the Mohave Desert, the Rockies, the Great Plains, and the Appalachians, before finishing on the Atlantic Coast at Annapolis, Maryland.
The 2-man race was won by Team Bergen-Hill from the U.S.A. in a time of 7 days, 5 hours and 28 minutes, with British team Atlantic Drifters in second in a time of 8 days, 9 hours and 57 minutes. Third place went to another team from the U.S.A., Team Beyond who finished in 8 days, 15 hours and 1 minute, just ahead of the Irish pair.
Brassil and Macken were raising money for the Alzheimer Society.
Gavin Mc Gee
Imagine. The time of a nap
Well done Declan Brassil
Jenna Henning