Y MATTHEW WILSON

Donegal Ultra 555 organiser Sean McFadden is looking forward to the action getting underway this weekend as the event reaches its ten year milestone.

Cyclists from near and far will take to the roads of Donegal this Saturday as the 10th annual Donegal Ultra 555 cycling race takes centre stage.

This intense endurance cycle has become a staple in the Donegal sporting calendar. The event has three different distances for cyclists of various levels,,222km, 333km and 555km.

Letterkenny native Sean McFadden launched the event back in 2015 and stated that everything is coming together nicely for Saturday, a day which will be a huge achievement for both himself and the team that have helped to keep the event on its feet through the years.

“It’s a big day for the event, a lot of work is being carried out behind the scenes. It’s a big year for us because it’s our tenth anniversary. To get to ten years is a massive achievement for myself and the people that have come and gone but we’re still here so we’re happy to be ready for Saturday.”

This weekend’s race has 98 cyclists signed up, the maximum number of participants the event can have. These cycling enthusiasts will ride along the Wild Atlantic Way and travel through iconic locations such as Glengesh Pass and Malin Head, taking in the Atlantic coastline.

People have previously travelled from areas such as New Zealand, America, Australia and the Isle of Man to test themselves on the challenging and scenic route.

With 7,000 metres of climbing across the course of the route, McFadden expressed that there’s nowhere else on earth quite like what Donegal has to offer.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere in the world like it. We’ve had riders from all over the world come to Donegal to do the 555 and they’ve done races all over the world, they’ve never seen anything as good as the scenery and the trail.”

“It’s 7,000 metres of climbing over 555 kilometres so it’s tough and it’s challenging. We’ve had Conor Dunne from GCN and he’s cycled the Vuelta Espana and the Giro d’Italia and he didn’t finish it.”

The quantity of people from all areas that congregate in the county every year for the endurance cycle shows what’s thought of the event that Sean McFadden,with the help of others, has built through the years.

The Letterkenny man discussed that a lot of work goes on in the weeks and months leading up to the event in order to make it a success but when you get out into the mix up on the day, it makes it all worthwhile.

“With the 555, I said to Michael (Black), if this event had 10 or 20 people in it then that’s the time to pull the pin on it but with people keep coming back year on year and you’ve up to 100 people wanting to do the race, that says it all for me.

“I’ll keep putting this event on if people keep coming back. I keep telling myself that this is the last year but once the event is on the road and you get out there and get into the bubble of it you think it wasn’t so bad after all.

“There is a lot of work behind the scenes that people don’t see but we’ll see how it goes. This is just a massive achievement for me to get to ten years. Shaun Stewart and Eugene McGettigan were there and now Michael Black is with me. You need good staff and you need good friends to help out.”