The Emerald Fund, which was established to help support the next generation of Irish cyclists, have released details of the criteria for funding for 2017.
The applications for rider funding for the 2017 season will open on November 28th and amongst the crieria are that the fund is open to road race riders only for 2017, riders must be in the U23 category and riders must be based outside of Ireland for the season.
The fund was established by Etixx-Quickstep Professional Dan Martin, Irish cycling commentator Cian Lynch and David O’Connell.
Eight riders were funded in 2016 – James Curry (Banbridge CC), Simon Tuomey (DID Dunboyne), Darragh O’Mahony (Kanturk CC), Stephen Shanahan (Asea Wheelworx), Ciara Doogan (UCD CC), Caimin Muldoon (Aqua Blue), David McCarthy JLT Condor and Mark Downey (VC Toucy U23) who recently won gold at the Apeldoorn round of the UCI Track World Cup.
Apart from Dan Martin, amongst the other top Irish riders who have supported the fund are Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac), Damien Shaw (An Post-Chain Reaction), Eddie Dunbar (Axeon Hagens-Berman) and Matt Brammeier (Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka).
“I started my career with the help of the Dave Rayner Fund,” said Matt Brammeier recently. “Without it, I would never have gotten to the level I’m at today.”
“By supporting the Emerald Fund, I hope to be able to help give a little back in some small way and play a part in giving the Irish kids of today the chance to realise their dreams and ambitions.”
David O’Connell expressed his gratitude for the support received from the top Irish riders saying: “We’re delighted to have Matt come on board with his support and we’re hopeful of having the support of all of Ireland’s pro’s. We hope with their support the fund can go from strength to strength and make a difference.”
The closing date for funding application is the 18th December 2016.
You can find out more details about applying for funding through this link: http://emeraldfund.ie/funding/
The Emerald Fund also offer various options for Partner Packages for any corporate sponsors that may be interested in supporting the fund. You can find out more details HERE.
