Killarney cyclists were prominent in the TransAtlantic Way Ultra Race which finished in Cork last week.

FINISH LINE: Tom Daly won the 1,680km 'short course'.

NIGHT RIDER: Benny Cassidy averaged 400km per day.

The event’s ‘short’ course was won by 66-year-old Tom Daly from Killarney Cycling Club.

Tom covered the 1,680km course, with 19,134 metres of climbing, in a time of six days and 11 hours. Tom had previously won a number of Masters national track championship titles with the Killarney club.

The longer course covered 2,430km and the Cassidy brothers – Benny (30) and Donnacha (32) – came second and third respectively.

Benny, a former member of Killarney Cycling Club, covered the course in five days and 23 hours, averaging more than 400km per day.

“I don’t know what they put in the water in Killarney to make them so tough. In the world of ultra-bike racing, the TransAtlantic Way is notorious as one of the toughest there is. It has unrelenting steep climbs and energy-sapping roads, and to have three riders from one town doing so well is remarkable,” said race director Adrian O’Sullivan.

The brothers are sons of Brendan Cassidy, a former chairman of Killarney Cycling Club.

Benny was a former elite road racer before taking up ultra-racing. He came second in this event before and in 2019 came 12th in the Transcontinental Race that covers 4,000km between the Black Sea and the Atlantic coast in France.

This year’s event was confined to Irish residents because of COVID-19 restrictions and there were 22 starters.