The Tour of Ulster has attracted a very international field again this year with teams coming from the UK, Portugal, Scotland, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. But several county men won't be on the start-line having missed the deadline for entry (Photo: Marian Lamb – Cycling Ulster)
The quota of riders permitted to fill the AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster over the May Bank Holiday weekend has long been filled, the organisers have warned.
The event is still over a month away but because only 150 are allowed to take part and the uptake was so rapid, many teams missed the closing date for entry.
Though those who missed out have been put on a reserve list, there is no guarantee at this point they’ll actually secure entry to the race.
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Some county teams who had been intending to ride appear to have missed the deadline.
“The entry opened and closed within 48 hours as the total of 150 riders was secured within that time-frame,” said Eleanor McGillie, speaking on behalf of the race.
“We were delighted with the speedy response of riders and clubs from across Ireland,” she added.
Conor Murphy and Greg Swinand on the attack during the final stage of the Tour of Ulster two years ago (Photo: Marian Lamb - Cycling Ulster)
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Race director Garry Nugent said he has a waiting list of about 14 riders to get into the event and that would have been much more had he not managed to secure extra slots from local ministers and the PSNI.
“I was originally allowed 110 riders but I spoke to the minister for roads and the PSNI and was able to secure an extra 40 spots.
“I’m taking in 40 international riders and 110 Irish riders and we’ve a waiting list of about 14 guys looking for teams.”
Some of the visiting teams include the Sportgrub Kuota Cycling Team and JLT Condor from the UK, the WTOS Delft team from the Netherlands and the CTC Tomacc team from Belgium.
An Irish Development team will also ride as will the Subaru Albion team from Australia, the Liberty Seguros–Carglass team from Portugal and a Scottish national team.
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