The Gorey Three Day has been called off for the second year after entries proved too low to make it viable (Photo: Sean Rowe)
The Gorey Three Day has been a rite of passage for Irish cyclists for decades but has been lost again for this year after also being cancelled last season (Photo: Sean Rowe)Irish cycling has been dealt a major blow with news that the Gorey Three Day stage race will not go ahead next month. It is the second year the race has been scrapped as the organisers were also forced to call a halt last year.
As was the case 12 months ago, the pre-entries for the event this time around were too low to make the event viable, or even cover a large portion of the costs, which are considerable for stage races. Just 35 riders had pre-entered, for a race that once attracted a fied of 200 or more.
Race director, Derek Webb, and his team had made repeated appeals to riders to take on this year’s race and to get their entries in as early as they could.
However, with three weeks to go until the event was due to take place, over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, the number of entries was very low.
Faced with the prospect of a huge financial burden, and with numbers looking poor, Webb and his team have made the difficult decision to cancel the race again this year.
The scale of the event, and similar races, effectively means a quota of riders is required. It is very difficult to hold out until much closer to the time of such races, especially given the manpower and costs associated with running these major events.
The Gorey has been a rite of passage down the years for most Irish road racing cyclists and has been a showpiece race on the domestic scene for decades.
Its cancelation again this year comes as other race organisers are also facing a huge challenge amid smaller fields again this year.
The event once attracted 200 entries and has been run for more than 50 years. It changed format in recent seasons, when it was based in Gorey, Co Wexford, for the full event.
Previously riders raced from Dublin to Gorey on the opening stage, and back again on the last day of action. The race also added a women’s event in recent seasons.
More to come.