Sligo Champion links up with Innisfree Wheelers for sportive
ON Friday evening last Innisfree Wheelers launched their new event on the local cycling calendar.
Over the past number of years the local cycling club, who have been proactive in the promotion of leisure cycling in the Sligo area for the last ten years have staged a sportive on the first Sunday of September.
This year they have raised the bar to a new high by creating a partnership with The Sligo Champion and the local Skoda Car Dealership Burns Car Sales.
Both companies have been synonymous in the last two years in the organisation of the local Skoda Cycle event.
This new partnership with the experience of the Innisfree Wheelers Club from the cycling side, the Skoda brand name which is carried on numerous major cycling events worldwide along with the marketing power of the Sligo Champion under their Independent Newspaper banner should prove to be a successful recipe for a great event.
The event will be staged on Sunday September 4th.
The event will be known as the ‘ Innisfree Wheelers Autumn Cycle Sportive’ in partnership with Skoda Burns Car Sales and the Sligo Champion.
The HQ and starting point for the event will be the Sligo Park Hotel just off Pearse Road near Sligo Retail Park.
Starting Times will be staggered with the 140km at 9.00am. 100km at 9.30am and 60km at 10.00am.
The three route options offered are 60km, 100km and 140km and will aim to cover a large cross section of abilities of cyclist who will take part in the event.
For those who are very new to cycling they can try the 60km event which will be routed on a loop from Sligo Park- Ballygawley- Riverstown- Ballymote and return to Sligo.
The 100km will route on a similar starting point but from Ballygawley will head on towards Knockvicar for the foodstop to Boyle- Ballymote and return to Sligo.
The premier event the 140km will also head out towards Ballygawley and do a loop to Drumshanbo back to Knockvicar for their foodstop and return via Boyle- Ballymote and return to Sligo.
All the events will be supported on route with mechanical and medical back up.
Foodstops for the 100km and 140km will be at Knockvicar and at Ballymote for the 60km. On return to the Sligo Park Hotel all participants can avail of the Pasta Party afterwards. All of this for an entry fee of € 20.
All of the events’ routes will be available on Map My Ride and from the beginning of next week online registration will be available through Fit Magazine where the event will be profiled on their events section of the magazine.
The link with Fit Magazine through the Irish Independent will give a whole new profile to an Innisfree Wheelers event in that apart from the online booking, participants will be able to link in to get route maps, info on the event and also look at profiles of participants in the event and other important event details.
During the lead up to the event training programmes, weekly updates and profiles of cyclists taking part in the event will be carried in the Sligo Champion.
Along with this there will be also be weekly prize draws for Cycling apparel in the Sligo Champion and Ocean FM.
Regular articles that will link in with the event will also be carried on the Innisfree Wheelers website and Facebook sites to keep cyclists who are entering the event up to speed on whats new and to prepare them for the day of the event.
This event is certainly one that all members of the Innisfree Wheelers Club will work hard in order to make enjoyable for both local and visiting cyclists to finish off their season in style. If you’re a cyclist contemplating entering the event we look forward to seeing you in Sligo on September 4th for what will be a day to remember in one of Irelands hidden secrets.