The
Irish UCI Continental team EvoPro Racing has launched a GoFundMe campaign with
a view to raising €150,000. The launch of the fundraising drive comes after a
deal that had been planned between the team and Cycling Ireland has collapsed.
In its GoFundMe campaign, team co-founder and former national champion Morgan Fox said he had launched the squad with former Cycling Ireland president PJ Nolan in 2018 to create a development pathway for Irish cyclists trying to progress to the pro ranks.
He added the team had nine UCI wins to its name to date, had regularly competed against WorldTour teams with budgets of €50 million and had a world class schedule of racing in place for its riders.
“We
have funded the team with our own resources with private loans and help from
friends and family and with some deals with equipment and clothing sponsors,”
Fox said. “We have managed to construct a hub for the development of our
cyclists in the heart of Belgium where the riders have access to everything
they need.
Advertisement
“Irish cycling wants to see the team succeed and for us to be able to give the team and the young cyclists of Ireland a pathway to the very top of international cycling. It will cost over €250,000 to run this project for the rest of 2022 but in terms of race and training days that is just €25 per rider at full capacity.
“We at EvoPro will put every Euro back into our project and we will operate an open book accounts policy. This project can be transformational for Irish cyclists and these young boys and girls can benefit from an experience that has been unavailable up to now.”
Related News
Anyone who is willing and able to donate to the fundraising drive can do so by following this link.
The proposed arrangement between Cycling Ireland and EvoPro Racing would have seen the Irish national governing body invest some €300,000 this year to create a Cycling Ireland Academy within the team for a number of riders.
However,
after the heads of an agreement were signed last December a dispute emerged
within Cycling Ireland over how the deal was agreed, its terms, the riders
selected for inclusion in the academy and the level of information shared
within the governing body about the proposal.
Cycling Ireland decided to ask chartered accountants BDO to review the deal, the results of which are due imminently, though the deal is definitely not going ahead.
In recent days EvoPro Racing issued a statement confirming former FAI chief executive John Delaney had been present at a meeting with a commercial backer, though said he was not paid and was not part of the team.
Furthermore,
while reports in the media suggested a company linked to the team had a deficit
of €390,000, EvoPro Racing said the company was a sponsor of the team and one
of the team’s founders was the company’s main creditor.
