Cork cyclist has taken on the toughest 24-hour cycle in the world

TEN years ago, when Dermot Mulcahy bought his first bike at Victoria Cross, he never envisaged he’d be at the starting line ready to take on the challenge of the Tour du Mont Blanc, the toughest 24-hour cycle in the world.

Dermot, aged 45, who works in the Department of Medicine in UCC, sets the scene.

“You are at the starting line in the heart of the beautiful ski station of Les Saisies. It is 4.55am, and you turn on your front light. You listen to the safety instructions from the announcer and the head of the course.

“At 4.58am, the departure music starts, a lot of thoughts jump inside your head, ‘What am I doing here? Why do I hurt myself like this? Am I ready for this huge challenge?’”

Dermot knows the answer.

To become a hero! A person who shows huge courage.

Dermot, of Glasheen, took part in the Tour du Mont Blanc last month, riding 330km and facing 83,000m of elevation gain in one day. He crossed three countries - France, Switzerland and Italy - and was confronted with a demanding and ruthless route that required constant strength.

How did he do it? After all, not so long ago, he was just an ordinary commuter on his bike going to work.

“When I was told about the Lee Roadies Cycling Club ten years ago, I became interested in joining,” says Dermot.

“I like to keep fit and I liked the idea of organised spins at weekends; Saturday being a longer, faster, harder cycle, Sunday being a shorter cycle.

“There was always a good turn-out on the road and Pat O’Leary, the administrator of the group, was always aware of new people and he helped us build endurance. 

We got used to pacing and our confidence increased riding within a group. We learned how to share the load and share the effort keeping up with the peloton.

Dermot took to cycling like a duck to water.

“I liked it at once. I enjoyed the freedom of cycling and city life, I used the bike to get from A to B, instead of waiting for the bus.

“I was always encouraged to cycle as a young lad going to school. The roads were much quieter then. Now, taking up cycling seriously, it was a matter of building up distance, endurance and speed.”

His enthusiasm for road cycling drove him on to take part in long distance events.

“There were many options,” says Dermot. “Like the Ring of Kerry. I cycled 80km, 100km and 160km to build up a level of fitness and endurance.”

He had a regime.

“It involved proper diet, rest and recovery. Doing big events like 160km, the advice was carb loading and hydration. I upgraded my bike to a lighter version, a Canyon SHX racing bike - €8,000, a good investment.”

When did he decide to take part in the world’s toughest one-day bike race, in July?

“The seed was planted in my head way back,” says Dermot. “Richie Pratt, a well-known cyclist, said, ‘The mountains are made for you. You should consider Mont Blanc in a couple of years’.”

Dermot took Richie seriously and took on San Remo in Milan six years ago, a 300km cycle. He trained hard and came out of Ireland and out of his comfort zone to take on challenging cycling routes.

“The Lee Roadies, which formed in 2004, had already done a lot of events,” says Dermot. “We travelled to Majorca, being introduced to hills and mountains that opened up a new vista of cycling. 

Three years ago, I took on the 170km Etape du Tour.

Does he feel like an Ironman?

Dermot laughs.

“A long day in the saddle does take it out of you - you have to be adequately fuelled up and your body must be used to it. Your heart rate adapts to develop a more expansive range and your resting heart rate is lower. Conditioning the body, you push the needle every little bit.

“My conditioning, my fitness, my speed and endurance evolved over 10 years. My body grew in tolerance.”

Dermot had a dress rehearsal in terms of distance with the Blarney Cycling Club for the biggest cycling event of his life.

“I went out with them for a long weekend, clocking up 330 miles. There is a good connection between the two clubs, Blarney and Lee Roadies. We cycled from Blarney to west Kerry and back to Cork, ticking all the boxes for distance, if not for elevation.”

Dermot leaned a valuable lesson on that journey.

“The name of the game is to keep eating and drinking,” he says. “Coming into Macroom, I began to wilt. I limped to a petrol station and fuelled up. I was ravenous!”

Another stepping stone to the Tour Du Mont Blanc was cycling the Wicklow 200.

“It got me ready for the big event, the Tour Du Mont Blanc,” Dermot says. The event was a tough day out; 17 hours with pit stops along the way.

“Six of us hooked up with a support group,” says Dermot. “The group was invaluable, looking after transfers to the hotel and sourcing food zones and mechanical help. It was good too to have the moral support. There were two cyclists from Germany, one from Belgium, one from Wales and one from the UK. We all stuck together in the same hotel, and ate together.

The Tour Du Munster is a monumental event, it was good to have the support of other cyclists.

They were like the six musketeers.

“We formed a bond,” says Dermot.

“The aim was to complete the course at our own pace. We were like amateurs doing a marathon, doing the 26 miles to complete the course.”

Mont Blanc is an alpine voyage that fills the heart and empties the lungs; 300 cyclists started, but just 70% of them finished. Dermot was among the elite cyclists who completed the gruelling course.

How did he feel coming down the home straight?

“The finish was exhilarating,” says Dermot. “The Tour Du Mont Blanc was the best thing I’ve ever done, including the lead up to it.”

He had good fortune too.

“A member of the Lee Roadies Club had a chalet in the French Alps, and he offered it to me five days before the event. It was a great advantage to get acclimatised, it made a huge difference.”

When Dermot completed the trek, he was walking on air.

“It was a joyous feeling to complete the course. The body is enlivened, the endorphins are alive and well boosted by the electric atmosphere.

“Meeting like-minded individuals who trained for the Tour Du Mont Blanc gave me a great sense of satisfaction.”

I was gobsmacked by the support I got from back home.

Had he any after-effects?

“I’m a bit saddle-sore and still nursing that!” laughs Dermot. “That was the only casualty I suffered, something very minor.”

Dermot had many supporters in his corner.

“McCarthy Cycles in Cork were very good in looking after me, and making sure my bike was ready and in good working order. John is a fellow cyclist and knows just what everybody needs, no matter what their endeavours.”

Dermot is endeavouring to do more cycling. 

“Cycling is big in continental Europe, there is plenty out there in France, Spain, Italy and the Low Countries,” he says.

“My idea is in my free time to go on activity holidays where I can get immersed in the cycling culture.”

Dermot is intent on promoting two-wheeled travel.

“I coach cycling to kids and stress the importance of safety,” he says.

“I go into schools in the Cork area, developing Corks Sports Partnership in conjunction with Cycling Ireland. The programme encourages kids to go out and cycle, teaching them the basics of how to handle a bike on a public road - road etiquette, the do’s and don’t’s. 

We teach them how to maintain their bike to save money along the way. We tell them it is a privilege to own a bike.

Declan feels privileged to have taken part in and completed the world’s toughest one day bike race. 

“The celebration of coming to be there made me walk on air,” he says.

It made him something else too - an all-out hero!