Bray Wheelers Cycling Club have received a major boost to their plans to host the 59^th edition of the Shay Elliott Memorial race in May with confirmation that New Ireland Assurance are to sponsor the race.

The one-day race is the toughest and one of the longest running events on the domestic calendar and Bray Wheelers C.C. have been working hard in recent years to cement its status as the race that everyone wants to win. A field of 200 riders are expected to compete in the prestigious event on Sunday, May 15^th with a new 151 km route for A1/A2 riders, and a new 89 km route for A3/Junior riders, with both routes including the decisive climb over Glenmalure.

“We are delighted that New Ireland Assurance are supporting our ambition to continually develop the race which now caters for the top A1 and A2 riders in the country and those coming up through the A3 and Junior ranks,” said John Spain, Chairman of Bray Wheelers C.C.. “It takes a tough rider to win either race and the undulating terrain and climb over Glenmalure, where both races pass the Shay Elliott Memorial and where the King of the Mountains jersey will be contested, is guaranteed to be decisive,” he added.

Over 100 volunteers from Bray Wheelers are involved in organising the two races and the return of the race to the traditional Sunday slot is also expected to have a significant bearing on the number of riders and spectators turning out on the day.

The Shay Elliott was first organised by Bray Wheelers in 1958 having been devised by Joe Loughman. It was known as the Route de Chill Mhantáin at the time but later changed its name to celebrate the memory of Elliott, a prolific one-day rider, renowned for becoming the first Irishman to wear the Tour de France race leader’s yellow jersey. While Sean Kelly remains the only rider to have won the race as a junior, the performance of Eddie Dunbar in finishing second to Damien Shaw in 2014 and his impressive performances for his new NFTO team is already a talking point among those who have set their sights on winning this year’s race. With the race boasting an illustrious list of previous winners including Peter Crinnion, Peter Doyle, Pat McQuaid, Sean Kelly, Martin Early, Philip Cassidy, David McCann, Ciaran Power, Malcom Elliott, Dan Craven, Tim Barry, Philip Lavery, Damien Shaw and Martyn Irvine it is clear that it takes an exceptionally talented rider to secure victory.

The 152km Shay Elliott race for A1/A2 riders starts from the race HQ at Bray Wheelers clubhouse at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 15th, with the 89km race for A3/Junior riders starting five minutes later. The clubhouse will be open from 8.30 a.m. on the day.

The route for both races proceeds to Kilpeddar – where the prime for the green jersey will be contested after 12.8 kilometers – Ashford and Rathdrum. The A1/A2 riders will continue to Ballinaclash where they will complete a new 21km loop three times before tackling the climb of Glenmalure after 116km of racing, while the A3 and Junior riders will turn in Rathdrum for Greenane, meeting the climb of Glenmalure after 53 km of racing.

Spectators planning on watching the race unfold at Glenmalure will need to allow time to take a viewing spot by 12.25 for the A3 and Junior race, with the riders in the A1 and A2 race scheduled to follow 13.38 later. Following the climb, both races will make their way to Laragh and to a new race finish at Djouce via Boleynass, Roundwood and  Ballinastoe with the riders expected to finish between 14.48 and 13.30 respectively.

New Ireland Assurance Company is the first wholly Irish owned life assurance company to transact business in Ireland. 

 In the last 100 years, New Ireland Assurance have provided Life, Pension and Investment products for the retail and corporate market and grown its assets under management from £1,000 in 1918 to over €15 billion today. New Ireland Assurance is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland Group.

New Ireland Assurance – “Taking care of you” – https://www.newireland.ie/

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