THE weather was not so kind to the 100-plus cyclists who took part in the 100km Curragh-to-Curragh Cycle before racing on Saturday, but that didn’t stop them from raising significant funds once again for the Pat Smullen Cancer Trials Ireland charity.

This was the fifth edition of the event, the brainchild of Gavin Lynch who lost his own mum Olive to pancreatic cancer.

Gavin told Racing TV: “We’ve had four perfect days up to this, so an 80% record of good weather is not so bad in Ireland. Yeah, we’d a lot of rain and a lot of wind, but we had great fun.”

The cyclists called into Gilltown and Moyglare Studs, and Naas and Punchestown Racecourses on the way.

Among them were annual participants A.P. McCoy, amateur rider Paddy Smullen and former jump jockey Will Kennedy, who used the 100km as a warm-up before finishing second in the charity race later in the day.

“A.P. flew over from England this morning and is flying back tonight, so good on him,” Gavin reported. “Paddy Smullen was a revelation. He was up the front the whole way, and he had only cycled 50km in practice. He’s a very fit man.”

Paddy Power is the main sponsor of the cycle.