Junior Tour of Ireland saved by former top cyclist: Michael O'Loughlin and Eddie Dunbar cleaning up on the Irish team in 2014. The Junior Tour has secured a new sponsor and so the show goes on (Photo: Stephen McMahon -Sportsfile)
Junior Tour of Ireland secured as new sponsor found
Faced with an uncertain future because of a lack of sponsorship, the Junior Tour of Ireland has secured a new backer.
Eurocycles Eurobaby, the Dublin-based bicycle and baby retail chain, has today been unveiled as the new backer.
It is a sister company of Scott Bicycles, which had backed the race in recent years.
And once again well known businessman and former international cyclist Mel Sutcliffe is the key figure at the centre of the deal.
When the future of the Junior Tour was put at risk in 2015 after losing a long term backer, the Irish cycling community made significant efforts to fundraise.
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And Dubliner Sutcliffe also put his shoulder to the wheel, committing Scott Bicycles as the new title sponsor.
When the term of that deal expired at the end of last year’s race, concern around the event surfaced once more.
And because Rás Tailteann and Rás na mBan had also lost their backers, the situation for Ireland’s major stage races looked very uncertain.
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However, with Sutcliffe now committing his retailing business to the Junior Tour, hopefully the other races will also find new backers.
Mel Sutcliffe, who is chief executive at the Eurotrek Group, said the Junior Tour was a key event for Ireland that also helped put the domestic scene on the international map.
“To see the list of riders that have come through the Junior Tour is phenomenal,” he said of the race, which he rode himself.
“Today we see the rise of Sam Bennett winning three Giro d’Italia stages,” he said of the Carrick-on-Suir man who won the junior stage race 10 years ago.
“And also Eddie Dunbar is establishing himself at the highest level of professional racing,” he added of the Aqua Blue Sport 21-year-old.
Dunbar won the race during both his years as a junior; back in 2013 and 2014.
Sutcliffe continued: “Without international races like this in Ireland aiding athlete development, the large amount of talent we have in Ireland could go undiscovered.”
Alice Sherratt, the race director, was delighted Eurocycles Eurobaby was the six-day race’s new backer.
“Eurocycles Eurobaby have been sponsoring our green jersey for the past three years,” she said.
“And we are thrilled that they have committed to assuming the role of title sponsor for the 2018 edition.”
The race takes place in six weeks time and will be based once again around Ennis, Co Clare.
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