Sponsorship boost for cycling

Press, 29 April 1981, Page 26

Sponsorship boost for cycling

A major injection has been made into the coffers of professional cycling in Canterbury with a $2OOO sponsorship from the Wilson Neill wine and spirit company. But the sponsorship will not go into the HOrnby cash club’s regular programme: instead, a new* series of races will be. held on Sundays throughout. the winter, roughly every fortnight, with points being awarded to placings down to tenth. Professional cyclists get. very little experience of massed start racing — the exceptions are usually only the Canterbury and national 4()km titles — and the series will fill one gap. But there is another major reason, explained the vicepresident of the Hornby club, Mr Chris Giddens, who is also the organiser for the Wilson Neill series.

"We’re really looking to help the guys prepare themselves for the Healing-3ZM tour late in the year. If it is, as we hope, a pro-am, our guys will need as much preparation as they can get, more than the normal programme can give them.” Accordingly, reasonably testing courses have been selected, the Sefton block being used twice and the Cust block once. The rolling

Halswell block is the venue for three of the races, and the others are at Leeston and Ruapuna Park. The races are long enough, too. The first, at Halswell on May 24, is 80km and so is the first of the Sefton races, on June 7. Then they step up in distance: 120 km at. Cust and Halswell on June 21 and July 12 respectively; 140 km at Leeston on July 26; 160 km at Sefton (August' 2) and Halswell (September 13); and 200 km of Ruapuna Park on August 16. Winning a race is worth 20 points — and $25 — second place 18, third 16 and so on to two points for tenth Winning the whole series is worth $5OO. a gold medal and trophy, a road jersey and a sash.' The minor over-all prizes are $250. plus a silver medal and jersey for second; $l5O, a bronze medal and jersey for third, $75 for fourth, and $25 for fifth. The rich pickings do not. stop there, however. Penfold is sponsoring the sprint ace section, and at the end of the championship series, riders will be paid out 50 per cent of their sprint points. For example, a rider earning 40 points will receive $2O. RAY CAIRNS