Dave Rayner died after an altercation at a nightclub, but his memory lives on. And now very promising Irish riders are set to financially benefit from his legacy.
Two Irish riders will receive financial support from the Dave Rayner Fund in 2016 after its latest round of grant recipients was revealed today, Thursday.
The fund was established in 1995 and provides much needed money to young riders from the UK and Ireland with the aim of helping them develop their racing talent abroad.
There were four Irish riders funded last year and two of those have secured backing again for the coming season.
Matthew Teggart of French outfit AC Bisontine is one, with Daniel Stewart the other.
Stewart has progressed from French team Hennebont Cyclisme, with whom he spent last season, to the ranks of Irish Continental outfit An Post-Chainreaction for 2016.
Advertisement
He began his career at home with Audi East Antrim and has been a very strong rider for a number of seasons; first becoming one of the best juniors in the country and now having made a seamless transition into the top group of U23s.
He is an U23 international and will really look to make a step up this year with Sean Kelly’s team.
Daniel Stewart being interviewed by his new manager Kurt Bogaerts at the An Post-Chainreaction team launch in Spain this week (Photo - An Post-ChainReaction.com)
Teggart won a stage in the Junior Tour of Ireland in 2014 and the points jersey despite having a difficult period as a junior because of illness and injury.
He started out with Banbridge CC, which has produced a huge number of top riders for a number of decades.
Before going to France last year, he rode for the Nicolas Roche Performance Team at home.
Related News
He took his first foreign win in France last year and will look to gain U23 national selection this year or next and become a regular in the green of Ireland.
The bulk of the 27 recipients of funding this year from the Rayner fund are UK riders.
A similar scheme was established in Ireland over the winter, with that Emerald Fund set to soon unveil the names of those riders it will fund for the year ahead.
The fund the Irish duo has secured the backing of is named after Rayner, who was a huge talent from the UK.
Matt Teggart takes his first victory in France last May after being up the road all day in a series of moves (Photo: AC Bisontine)
He won the national junior road race title before going on to race with distinction in Belgium and Holland with the Buckler pro team.
Rayner was tragically killed in 1994 aged just 27 years following a nightclub altercation in Bradford.
In the last 20 years, the fund in his memory has helped support almost 200 riders racing overseas with more than 300 season-long financial packages.
Those supported in the past include: David Millar, Charly Wegelius, Matt Brammeier, Ian Stannard, Dan Martin, Josh Edmondson, Adam Yates, Russ Downing, Yanto Barker, Tom Barras, David Clarke, Graham Briggs, Peter Williams, Tobyn Horton, Jonathan McEvoy, Nikki Harris, Dani King, Tom Southam and Daniel Lloyd.
Irish riders who have received financial assistance in the past include Jack Wilson, Conor Dunne, Ronan McLaughlin, Philip Bremner, Philip Lavery, Tim Cassidy, Paidi O’Brien, David O’Loughlin, David McQuaid and Shane Prendergast.
As well as Teggart and Stewart, Irish riders Jack Sadler and Eoin McCarthy were assisted by the Rayner organisation last year.
Riders receive funding after making an application. They must be in the U23 category, although allowances are very occasionally made.
They must also be willing and able to live and race abroad for a full season and “have enough ability to obtain results, and enough desire to continually improve”.
Topics
