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Charity cyclist who rode to Euros beaten up upon arrival by would-be bike thieves

Was saved by group of local women

A Dublin man who rode almost 600km for charity on his way to Euro 2016 was punched and kicked by would-be bike thieves on his arrival in Paris. Fortunately, a group of market traders came to his aid and saw off his attackers.

The Irish Independent reports that Alan Maxwell decided to ride from Dublin to Paris to raise money for Breast Cancer Ireland and ARC Cancer Support after his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Maxwell got the ferry to Holyhead on June 9 and cycled 200km from Anglesey to Shrewsbury the following day. He then cycled another 200km from Shrewsbury to Oxford before a final 170km ride to London, at which point he took the train to Paris.

England squad abandon plans to cycle to Euros training over 'health and safety fears'

He raised more than €5,000 through his efforts, but his arrival in the French capital on June 13 – the day of Ireland’s match against Sweden – was marred when he was attacked at the Gare du Nord.

"When I arrived in Paris, two lads jumped me at the Gare du Nord and tried to rob my bike off me, after all that. I was cycling along, smiley, I'd had a few beers on the train. Next of all, a punch in the side of the face."

Maxwell said that he was saved by a group of local women.

"The locals who were running the market stalls around there all came flooding to save me. They grabbed my bike for me. Another lad came running up behind and said 'Hey man, you dropped your phone'. It had fallen out of my pocket when I was getting kicked on the ground.”

Maxwell says he plans to fly home. "I cycled all that distance and that was the reward that I got."

Reflecting on the ride, he told the Belfast Telegraph: "If I'm honest it was too big an undertaking. The distances were too much. My legs have never felt as bad, and as well as the physical side of it, because I was on my own the mental strength is what really I found tough, just to motivate myself to keep going. But my mantra was 'it's time to earn the money that people donated'."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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9 comments

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Yorkshire wallet | 8 years ago
0 likes

Every city has shitholes. York is my local city but nice as it may be in places there are equally shitty parts. I grew up in Harrogate, very affluent over all but still plenty of trouble to be found if you went in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hope this doesn't put the guy off travelling for the rest of his days or anything.

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Twowheelsaregreat | 8 years ago
1 like

Right that's it I'm voting Brexit

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OldRidgeback | 8 years ago
4 likes

There are a lot of scrotes around Gare du Nord unfortunately. Someone tried to mug me just outside the station some years ago. Before anyone suggests I might be being racist about the demographic in that area of Paris, I'll point out he was white, and probably a heroin user.

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Gus T replied to OldRidgeback | 8 years ago
0 likes

OldRidgeback wrote:

There are a lot of scrotes around Gare du Nord unfortunately. Someone tried to mug me just outside the station some years ago. Before anyone suggests I might be being racist about the demographic in that area of Paris, I'll point out he was white, and probably a heroin user.

Agreed, every year or so the French Police do a crack down in the area and it's safe to visit for 3 months or so but it is a well known crime area.   In response to the Brexit comment, which presume was tongue in cheek, the cyclist was from Eire not NI

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velodinho | 8 years ago
4 likes

How dispiriting. I hope he's okay.

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handlebarcam | 8 years ago
3 likes

It would have been nice to have some reporting on what happened to the assailants, even if it was just "They ran off and police are looking for two men with bruise marks from being battered by day-old baguettes."

I'm glad he got his bike back. But if he hadn't I propose that the UCI adopt a policy that any bicycle tossed by a petulant pro rider should automatically be donated to a collection which is then awarded to the most deserving victims of bicycle theft in the past year.

 

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GF22 | 8 years ago
2 likes

F**king foreigners eh! Would never happen in this country. Another reason for Brexit 

Fair play though to the guy for doing it!

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turboprannet | 8 years ago
7 likes

People. What a bunch of bastards.

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bobbinogs replied to turboprannet | 8 years ago
7 likes

turboprannet wrote:

People. What a bunch of bastards.

Well, sort of.  The article shows both sides of human nature: The good, with a group of complete strangers willing to get involved and help the bloke out & the bad, the two scrotes happy to rob someone in a violent manner that will leave them scarred emotionally for some time.  Fortunately, there seems to be more good folks out there than bad but it is usually the bad that can often last in the memory.

 

ps. I think we can all ignore any Brexit nonsense in this instance.

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