Charity cyclists will look Buddie brilliant on road
St Mirren Charitable Foundation’s team set to take on the Loch Ness Etape this weekend have been gifted special tops which will see them ride in style as they raise cash for charity.
Alan Provan of Provan Sports has kindly provided the retro St
Mirren cycling strips ahead of the big challenge on Sunday.
Among the riders turning the pedals for the foundation will be Brian Smith who represented Great Britain in the 1996 Olympic Games and competed in three Commonwealth Games.
Joining him will be 1987 Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner, Stephen Roche, St Mirren FC chairman John Needham and the charitable foundation’s CEO Gayle Brannigan.
Also in the team are Graham Coyle, who works at the foundation and is a big St Mirren fan; Jamie McDowall, St Mirren fan; Tommy Fraser and son Thomas jnr, a father and son Saints duo; John Griffiths, St Mirren fan; Michael Mitchell, a keen cyclist looking to ride alongside Brian and Stephen; and Kirsty Willard,
St Mirren FC ticket office staff member and fan of the club.
The Etape is a 66-mile, 360° closed-road route around the loch which starts and finishes in the Highland capital Inverness.
The route offers 900 metres of ascent while the King of the Mountain stage is a 4.8-mile climb gaining 380m in height with a gradient reaching 12 per cent at times.
The team are looking for sponsorship for their efforts – hoping generous donors will put their hand in their pocket before the race – with the kitty standing at more than £2,000 yesterday.
Money raised will be used to purchase an in-house minibus.
Donations can be made via the following link: https://bit. ly/49IIas5
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