The Emergency Fire and Rescue Unit (EFRU) has organised its yearly fundraiser cycling tour in Sicily, attracting the largest number of cyclists to date.

As always, this year’s tour was spread over two days and saw 26 participants challenge their limits while cycling close to 300km of undulating terrain and conditions – from Catania to Regalbuto in the province of Enna and back to Catania the next day.

As a back-up team, the EFRU deployed two rescue vehicles which roamed with the cyclists during the tour and a rapid response vehicle used to travel ahead of the team, marking the planned route and making sure the chosen roads were safe.

The first day of the tour was particularly daring for the cyclists and the EFRU back-up team alike, since the route around Mount Etna, on the eastern coast of Sicily was hit by dense fog and heavy rain, which made it almost impossible for participants to cycle safely without assistance. During the thick of the storm, the cyclists were grouped by the back-up team and slowly continued en route in between the rescue vehicles for protection from oncoming traffic and safety.

At exactly the 100km mark one of the cyclists lost his balance and had an accident

Day two was favoured with beautiful weather, sunshine and dry roads, so the participants were able to enjoy the beauty of the Sicilian countryside while cycling their way from the chosen agritourism in Regalbuto to Catania.

Challenges never stopped during this tour, as at exactly the 100km mark one of the cyclists lost his balance and had an accident. He was treated on the spot by the EFRU advanced first aid team before being transported in the unit’s ambulance to a close Pronto Soccorso where he was kept for almost 24 hours of tests and observations.

This meant that three EFRU volunteers who formed part of the back-up team backed out of the tour to join the injured cyclist to hospital while the rest of the team continued with the remaining cyclists, making sure of their well-being and safety till the end of the route.

The injured cyclist was dismissed from hospital and declared fit to travel on the Sunday and was seen to by the same EFRU volunteers who had accompanied him all along this journey till he reached Malta.

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