An Post to Conclude Cycling Sponsorships

An Post will conclude its suite of cycling sponsorships including the An Post Rás, the An Post Chain Reaction Cycling Team and An Post Rás na mBan as the terms of each sponsorship expires this year. The company stepped back from sponsorship of the Cycle Series at the end of 2016.

Aileen Mooney, Corporate Communications Manager An Post said:

“An Post has been the leading supporter of cycling in Ireland for a decade, providing long-term, committed sponsorship to Irish Cycling at all levels. We are very proud of what has been achieved by all involved and also by our staff through their involvement and support.

“The conclusion of these sponsorships comes at a time when An Post is facing significant financial challenges. As we set about implementing a new strategy for An Post, we must focus our resources on reshaping and restructuring our business, and on new product development.

“The timing of this formal announcement is to give the teams and the event organisers the opportunity to secure new sponsors whilst still having the backing of An Post until the end of this year’s activities. An Post is very much looking forward to our involvement in this year’s events and would like to wish all those involved in Irish Cycling every continued success into the future,” she concluded.

An Post first became involved in supporting Irish Cycling when the company took on title sponsorship of the Sean Kelly Development Team in 2008 and An Post’s sponsorship activities coincided with a period of significant growth for the sport.

Sean Kelly, who has been involved with the An Post Chain Reaction cycling team since 2008 said:

“An Post have been a fantastic sponsor of Irish Cycling over the last 10 years having supported the sport at all levels. We have greatly enjoyed our partnership with them which has allowed us to provide a platform for the on-going development of professional riders including talented Irish cyclists such as Sam Bennett who has gone on to compete at World Tour level and twice at the Tour de France.”

An Post Rás organiser, Tony Campbell said:

“We built a great partnership with An Post since they came on board in 2011 with the event growing year on year. They have worked tirelessly with us to develop the An Post Rás. This week we are welcoming 39 top teams from around the world to compete in the eight-day stage race bringing huge excitement and a significant economic boost to towns and villages along the route.”

Cycling Ireland would like to thank An Post for their very significant contribution to the sport of cycling across all levels of the sport over the past ten years. Together we have enjoyed a cycling revolution with the numbers of people cycling soaring. Over the past ten years Cycling Ireland membership has grown 720% and participation events like the Sport’s Partnerships Cycle Series which was sponsored by An Post up until 2016, provided avenues for people to further challenge themselves and enjoy new roads while meeting new people.

An Post played a significant part in bringing our top competitive events the Rás and Rás na mBan to a larger audience than ever before, and helped develop and progress them to the world class events they are today.

An Post’s ongoing support for the Paracycling Team has also played a key role in allowing the athletes to perform to the best of their ability, with the team winning ten Paralympic medals during this time, including four Paralympic titles.

Initially An Post became involved in cycling with the Sean Kelly Team – a team that to this day provides a valuable and crucial step into the international racing circuit for our very best male road racers. Over the past ten years the team has progressed from what was initially a development team, to one of the most respected Continental Teams.

Cycling Ireland CEO, Geoff Liffey said he was ”deeply appreciative of the support An Post provided to cycling over the last number of years, in backing many different aspects of the sport, from the successful LSP Cycle Series Leisure Events, Paracycling Team, Women’s Ras na mBan, The An Post Ras and the An Post Sean Kelly Team which provides an ideal platform for young Irish riders into the professional circuit. This commitment across many aspects of the sport has provided many opportunities for over a decade for those in the cycling community.”