Rene Van Dam addresses the crowd at the recent team launch for 2013; he has big plans for the Visit Nenagh Classic
By Brian Canty
Visit Nenagh-Team DMG manager, Rene Van Dam believes his club’s classic race, which was run for the first time last year, can quickly become a central one-day fixture on the Irish calendar. The Dutchman and adopted Irishman is even eyeing the prospect of the race securing UCI status.
He said while the likes of the Des Hanlon Memorial and the Shay Elliott Memorial are special races in their own right with so much history attached, his club’s Visit Nenagh Classic can become a key fixture in the next year or two.
“The classic itself was new for the area where we are in North Tipperary,” he said.
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“It was a bit underdeveloped in cycling terms for the last couple of decades so we’re after taking on a big task to organise one of the biggest races in the country and we’re trying to get it up to a UCI level race in the future,” explained Van Dam.
“We have a team from Holland coming this year which is the best Dutch club team there is. They’re coming over for it and most likely we’ll have the Irish junior development team coming back as well so it’s an important race and we’ll hopefully go from strength to strength and grow it in the future.”
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“You have the Des Hanlon and the Shay Elliott and we’re not forgetting them. They’re established, but we’re new on the scene and we definitely wanted something within the classic distance; over 150 kilometres. A 75 kilometre race is not good enough for the rider that wants to go into the Rás. Our race has that distance and it’s a challenging route, a few nice steep climbs. It’s a good race and we’re hopeful of another bumper turnout.”
The race is down for decision on Sunday April 21st, but it’s much more than just a race, Van Dam stresses.
“Anything that attracts people to a town must be viewed as a positive and our race does that. It will attract the family as well. It’s not just about the race. With all due respect to other races, a lot of them are kept outside the town but I wanted something in the centre of the town and we’ve succeeded in doing that.”
“They’re closing down the town, and you’ll have the festival, the markets, the food stalls, the whole lot. Over 40 stall holders were there last year and it was a great success and from hearing from the traders, they had a fantastic day. It’s a fantastic spectacle. I wish all the other races were like it, and not finishing somewhere in a field outside the town.”
To make it all happen took a marriage of several bodies, including Nenagh Town Council, the North Tipperary County Council, the North Tipperary Leader Partnership and the Sports Partnership. But most important of all is their new title sponsor, www.Nenagh.ie.
The race is open to all Cycling Ireland licence holders in the following categories A1/A2/A3/A4. Race distances: 154km (A1/A2) start 11.00am; 104km (A3) start 11.45am; 54km (A4) start 11.10am.
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