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Dublin’s own cycling legend Stephen Roche will open the May-set Irish Cycling Show.
The exhibition takes place at Simmonscourt Hall of the RDS on May 19th and 20th, featuring Madison, Trek and Paligap, among others.
Roche will be guest of honour, attending both days of the weekend show. He’ll also be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ‘Annus Mirabilis’ at the event. In the 1987 racing season Stephen Roche won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the World Road Race Championships.
Roche will also have a dedicated stand which will feature various memorabilia from his career, including the Battaglin bike with which he won the 1987 World Road Race championships in Villach, Austria as well as various items of clothing and trophies from a career that spanned 12 years at the top level of cycling.
“I’m really excited to be appearing at the Irish Cycling Show,” said Roche. “It’s high time there was an exhibition of this kind in Ireland and it’ll be great to be able to remember 1987 in the company of friends.”
Event promoter Hugh Bonner of Mara Media added:“Stephen Roche’s achievements in 1987 represented the beginning of a new era of success for Irish people at home and abroad. His open top bus homecoming in Dublin came a year before the Irish soccer team’s similar return following Euro ’88.
“This is a good time to foster optimism in the country and the recent popularity of cycling puts the whole cycling industry at the forefront of a renewed confidence. The first Irish Cycling Show is coming at a good time and it will be great to have Stephen Roche with us to present it.”
Roche’s 1987 ‘triple crown’ of major wins places him in an exclusive of two with Belgian Eddy Merckx. He is still connected to the cycling world through Stephen Roche Cycling Holidays and Training Camps, his cycling holidays firm, which will be featured on his stand.
The Irish Cycling Show will feature exhibitors from every facet of cycling and related industry including cycle retailers and distributors and there will also be emphasis on general feature attractions to entertain the whole family. Plans in the pipeline include a test track around the venue, demonstrations, shows and seminars throughout the weekend. Further details on the shows attractions will be announced in the coming weeks.
BikeBiz’s April edition will feature an interview with the team behind the Irish Cycling Show.
