The Rás Tailteann team has been sure to keep the show on the road, and ready to go for 2019, if a sponsor can be found. There are now talks with two possible backers as a decision on next year's edition inches closer (Photo: Bryan Keane - Inpho)
With so much having been written of late about the future of Rás Tailteann, what seems certain is that any new backer coming in at this late stage would get huge positive publicity.
The race organisers, led by Rás director Eimear Dignam, have undertaken intense efforts to secure a new title sponsor for many months.
And now with decision time coming around as to whether the race will go ahead next year, there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
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Talks are underway with two possible new sponsors; companies that would benefit from the exposure the race gets in Ireland and abroad.
And while nothing specific is being revealed by the organisers about the identity of the possible new backers, there is hope that a deal can be struck.
Dignam and her team are tight-lipped for now, saying talks underway must be given time to take their course.
However, she is hopeful a deal could be done. But she said efforts must continue with a view to making it happen.
The Rás has witnessed the biggest achievements in the careers of many Irish riders. Top, Sean McKenna wins stage 6 into Carlow last year. Stephen Gallagher wins the race overall in 2008; the last Irishman to claim the final yellow jersey.
Given the history of the race and its growing international stature, hopefully the negotiations can reach a positive out.
The event is covered in the national print and online media as well as across radio. There are also TV reports, with race footage, on the RTE TV news each evening.
The Rás is also covered by the international cycling media and generates a lot of social media content before, during and after each edition.
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All of those factors combine to make it a very strong proposition for any new sponsor to come in and take over from An Post, the race’s previous backer.
Dignam told stickybottle that while there were talks with two commercial entities, her team would not ignore other companies they had been in contact with all along.
Those other threads would continue to be explored as the talks with the two main interested parties continued.
“We really need a decision by early December,” she said of landing a sponsor and being able to say whether the Rás would proceed next year or not.
“If you push it out further than that; then it’s January or maybe February and it could keep being pushed out.
“Already with having pushed the decision out to early December, there are some small issues that we might run into.
“For example, stage end towns contribute a sum of money; a small sum. And they would apply to their chamber of commerce for that money. But they set their budgets in November.
“So even from that perspective, with these things that maybe people wouldn’t think of; you couldn’t keep pushing a decision back.”
Hotels must be booked, international teams invited, stage start and finish towns arranged and many other arrangements made.
All of these components need to be put in place very soon because trying to advance them much closer to the race date, of next May, would not be possible.
Having said that, even though the race organisers wanted to make a decision on next year’s edition around now, Dignam says postponing that decision until next month would not in any way diminish the race if it goes ahead next year.
Once the decision was made early next month there was still time to put on the same standard race as before.
And Eimear Dignam said the team that puts on the Rás worked really well together under time and budgetary pressure last year; because of the lack of a title sponsor.
She believed that experience would stand to them again. But she said landing a sponsor was crucial.
While she was hopeful about the talks ongoing, she stressed nothing had been agreed.
It was also possible the negotiations may not achieve the result everyone wanted to keep the race on the road.
A race route has already been drawn up and the race organisers have kept in contact with international and domestic teams.
It means Dignam and her team have done a lot of work to ensure the 2019 edition is effectively ready to go if and when a sponsor is found.
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