Staff at Ineos Grangemouth get on their bikes for charity

The challenge saw 11 teams of employees from Ineos Scottish locations match the professional Tour de France cyclists’ race distances to raise £1000 for each of their chosen charities.

The first of the 11 charitable donations has now been received by the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).

For one team, C Shift, there was a personal connection with nominating SAMH as their chosen charity.

Mark McCann, team captain and shift optimisation leader at Grangemouth, said: “Earlier this year, a good friend passed away suddenly and this had a profound effect

on me. I wanted to do something in his memory and raising funds for SAMH via the Ineos cycling challenge seemed the most appropriate way.”

In addition to the £1000 donation from Ineos, the C shift team undertook personal fundraising that increased the donation to over £4000 and saw them achieve a podium finish – clocking up the second highest number of kilometres across the Ineos global team challenge.

Mark said: “We were determined to surpass last year’s collective distance and at the same time raise much needed funds for a very worthy charity that does tremendous work in communities, right across Scotland.

"The Ineos Tour de France challenge is a fantastic initiative in bringing employees together, fostering friendly team rivalries and supporting charities that are close to our hearts.”

SAMH community and event fundraiser Chloe Watson said: “We’re touched Mark and the C Shift team has completed the Ineos Tour de France challenge to raise

funds for Scotland’s mental health.

“We know that there’s a powerful connection between physical and mental wellbeing, and C Shift team’s efforts are a great reminder of this. A huge heartfelt thank you

from everyone at SAMH.”

The other charities set to benefit from cash donations include Cycling without Age Scotland, CHAS, Tiny Tickers, Strathcarron Hospice, Parkinsons, Brain Trust, BEAT - The UK’s Eating Disorder Charity, Forth Valley Hospital Children’s Ward Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes team and Cerebral Palsy Scotland.