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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
Future of Junior Tour Saved By Mel Sutcliffe
By Press Release
10 May 2015,
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Alice Sherratt is delighted to announce that Mel Sutcliffe, CEO and Founder of Eurotrek Group, has secured the future of the prestigious Junior Tour of Ireland by signing up to a 6 year sponsorship deal involving a six figure sum. This is the second time that Mel Sutcliffe and Eurotrek have stepped in to support the event, having previously sponsored the tour during 2002/2003.
Mel was a Junior Cyclist when he started in business. Eurotrek Group is Ireland’s largest wholesale distributor of bicycles and is sole distributor of major bicycle brands such as Scott, Raleigh and Felt. The group also owns the Eurocycles Eurobaby stores, Ireland’s leading bicycle and nursery retailer, with its online store at eurocycles.com and eurobaby.com. Eurotrek Group now operates throughout western Europe and is investing heavily in online and IT technologies.
Mel won the stage from Kanturk to Clonakilty in 1990 and finished fourth overall. Mel also represented Ireland at both junior and senior levels and retired from cycle racing in 1999 after completing his 10th Ras Tailteann. He holds the Coast to Coast record from Dublin to Galway (138 miles in a time of 5 hours, 30 mins and 28 seconds).
Speaking ahead of the launch of the 2015 Junior Tour of Ireland, Mel revealed:
“I am delighted to step in and secure the future of the Junior Tour of Ireland for a number of reasons. Firstly, It is a fabulous sporting event comparable to “The University of Life”. Seoncdly, for the great individuals and personalities I met along the road. I learnt a great deal from the two Junior Tours I took part in; from the point of view of sport and tactics. Now later in life I realise how lucky I was to have met the people behind the scenes who made the event possible. Junior Tour founder JJ McCormack was an amazing man who put an immeasurable amount of time and effort into supporting young cyclists in his lifetime. Now, Alice and her team continue that work and have contributed a vast amount of time and effort into the promotion of cycling in general and underage cycling in particular. I cannot thank Alice and all her team enough for the support and opportunities they gave me in my Junior and early Senior days. I hope that my support will be interpreted as a genuine commitment to the sport. I would urge anybody interested in the sport who, like me, cannot contribute their time, to provide financial or other support if they can to the organisers behind cycling events, who by their voluntary work effectively run ‘sporting charities’.
The title sponsor for the Junior Tour is Scott Bicycles, and Scott will also sponsor the yellow jersey. Eurocycles.com will sponsor the green jersey.
ABOUT THE JUNIOR TOUR
· The Junior Tour is one of the most historically important races in Ireland.
· This long stage race is the only race which allows Junior Cyclists to prepare for Senior/Professional level.
· The race gives Irish cyclists an opportunity to compete against international athletes.
· The event is good for the local economy and tourism.
· Up to 20 international teams compete in the event annually.
· The Tour achieves TV exposure for both the sport of cycling and the country of Ireland.
Previous winners and competitors include:
o Nicolas Roche
o Dan Martin
o Philip Deignan
o Mark Scanlan
o Mark Cavendish
o Luke Rowe
o Geraint Thomas
o Iain Stannard
o Ben Swift
o Kai Reus
o Martin Earley
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