By Shane Stokes
Rás Tailteann race director Ger Campbell has said he is ‘very hopeful’ of securing important funding for next year’s edition, telling stickybottle that discussions are already happening about sponsorship for next year.
Campbell and the rest of the Cáirde Rás Tailteann organising committee were left with a big funding search earlier this year to ensure that the 2023 edition went ahead. At the time he told stickybottle that more needed to be done during and after this year’s event to avoid the same tense situation next time around, and it sounds like things are already on a better keel.
“I think the difference between this year and last year is that we already are actively engaged in and working with people towards 2024,” he said. “There was kind of a three month hiatus last year. I did say to you before that we had thought that sponsorship was going to automatically fall from the heavens, which it didn’t. We know now that it needs more work to do. So in that regard, we are working more towards 2024. Absolutely.”
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This year’s race went ahead thanks to the same funding partners who backed the 2022 race stepping forward once again. Bective Stud, City Break Apartments, FBD Insurance, Spin 11, Cycling Ireland, Sport Ireland and Festina Watches were all contributors and while the race lacked an overall title sponsor, the sum total of all those funding sources ensured that the race could continue.
Campbell said that things are already in process that he hopes will translate into a clearer future for the event. “We had a couple of visitors with us on the race this week. I’d be very hopeful of them,” he revealed. “One of our existing sponsors is really chuffed to bits with the race this year as well. They did suggest some things to me a couple of days ago around continuing involvement with the race. They may have some requirements that we have to talk about in the coming weeks.
“But I think it’s looking better already for 24 than it was this time last year for 23, if you know what I mean.”
Asked what different it would make to have something firmly in place early on, he said the effects would be significant. “It would be absolutely huge because you can start planning the race straight away, as regards the logistics of it, the routes and accommodation. They are always the two first parts of the nuts and bolts of the race.
“If you’re sure that you are going to have money, then you can go and start confirming those things straightaway.
“Last year, leading up to this year, we had beds provisionally held for three months. And it got to a stage there where we had to start paying deposits on them. But if you know you’re going to have the funding, you can go ahead and actually pay the deposit on those beds, ringfencing them earlier.”
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Campbell previously told Stickybottle before this year’s race that it was ‘unsustainable’ that there was a search for funding in the early months of this year at a time when he and the rest of the organising committee should have been fully focussed on the other aspects of the organisation of the race.
The ideal scenario is to secure a title sponsor for a multi-year commitment. Whether or not that level of support is achieved for 2024, securing funding earlier will make a huge difference for all those involved.
However even if a big sponsor is secured, Campbell said that a rush back to a longer world-ranked event is not on the cards, at least in the near future.
“I’m in no rush to go back to the UCI calendar,” he said. “I don’t think any of my colleagues are in a rush to do that. And I suppose we did think after last year that it would be automatic that we would go back to eight days if we had the funding. But that’s not so sure either.
“The feeling is that the five day is more doable for a lot of guys. That’s both from the fitness ability and, probably more importantly, from the financial perspective for a lot of the Irish teams. So look, we are quite comfortable with where we are at the moment.”
Standard of international teams | "The mix is right at the moment"
On a final point, Campbell said that the level of international teams attending this year’s race was probably about right.
He pointed out that last year there were four Irish stage wins from five chances while this year there was four foreign stage wins and one Irish - by Dillon Corkery, who also went on to win the race overall.
“I think that suggests that the visiting teams coming in were little bit stronger. But I still think the mix is right at the moment. There’s nobody able to crazy out-batter each other. I think some of the stronger Irish riders that weren’t available to the race probably may have added to it as well. But we can’t legislate for that. I’m very happy. I’m very happy.”
He noted that defending champion Daire Feeley and Conn McDunphy both had big crashes, with the former exiting the race due to concussion and the latter losing time and any chance of winning overall.
As things turned out, the Irish riders did prevail, with Corkery pulling off a superb final stage raid and taking yellow. Campbell said after the final stage that, as race director, he has to be neutral. However he acknowledged that the dramatic final stage and eventual Irish winner would do no harm at all to the sponsorship search.
