Cyclist gears up for Sunflower Days

OLYMPIC gold hopeful Robin Seymour put the brakes on his busy schedule yesterday to support this year’s Hospice Sunflower Days.

As Irish national mountain bike champion for the past decade, Robin practices up to 24 hours a week for the Athens showdown in August.

"Things like the Olympic Games make the biggest difference for your motivation. It's a four- year goal, so you're working in the long term for that," said the 33-year-old, who also competed in Sydney.

"I love the sport in a very pure sense. I love everything about it; I would mountain bike even if I wasn't racing. I've always loved riding the bike," said Robin.

Last year more than €800,000 was generated for the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) during the Sunflower Days. It hopes to raise €1m in 2004 to benefit hospice groups and home care teams all over the country.

Tomorrow and Saturday, volunteers across the country will be selling hospice sunflower pins for €2.

All funds raised locally stay local and are used to support hospice groups or home care teams, the foundation says.

The foundation yesterday expressed its concern at the delay in establishing a national council on specialist palliative care.

"It's nearly two years since the report of the National Advisory Committee on Palliative Care recommended such a council," an IHF spokesperson said.

"The report a blueprint for the future development of palliative care was endorsed by Government, but no action has been taken to establish such a council."

It was envisaged the council would address issues such as funding, structures, standards, education, training and research, as well as identifying key areas for future service development in palliative care.