Irish Cycling Show boasts feast of major international brands for Dublin Giro expo

Rapha are just one of the major brands coming to The Irish Cycling Show in Merrion Square, Dublin, this weekend to coincide with the Giro Dublin stage finish on Sunday. However - the show will be there on both Saturday and Sunday.

By Brian Canty

The organisers of the Irish Cycling Show are confident this year's event - which runs all day tomorrow and Sunday – will add hugely to the Giro d’Italia experience in Dublin and be the biggest staging of the event to date.

This will be the third annual hosting of the country's largest dedicated cycling exhibition and Hugh Bonner of promoters Mara Media believes the fact the show is taking place inside Merrion Sq in south inner city beside the Giro Dublin stage finish, will attract record numbers.

"We want to continue to grow the Irish Cycling Show so when the Giro organisers in Ireland and the Dublin City Council approached us, we saw it as a great opportunity and I've no doubt this weekend will be the biggest staging of it yet."

The free entry event runs from 10am to 7pm both tomorrow and Sunday. And Bonner offers a taster of what visitors can expect there.

The sign going up on Merrion Square; the show is inside the park tomorrow and Sunday just yards from the finish of the Dublin Giro stage on Sunday.

"We have 55 stalls there in total, every one of them has been taken and between those there'll be about 75 exhibitors,” he said.

“All the top bike brands will be there, ChainReaction, Kona, Madison, Trek, all the different cycling holiday companies are there, all the nutrition and clothing companies, the biggest stand at the show is Rapha who do the clothing for Team Sky, you name it, we have it.

"There'll be music and entertainment as well so it should be a really great day out, plus there's going to be loads of eateries and coffee docks and wine ports so no one will go hungry.

"We're all geared up for it now putting the final touches on it. It's great to have it connected with the Giro obviously because of the location but also because of the crowds expected at Merrion Square over the weekend. We're just praying for the weather to be half decent."