- The Tour de Conamara is the first event of the 2019 ŠKODA Celtic Cycle Series will take place on May 25th departing from and finishing in Clifden, County Galway
- 2,500 cyclists will take to the saddle for the sportive cycle which offers participants the choice of 80km and 140km route options along the Wild Atlantic Way
- The 2018 event sold out in 48 hours and based on initial interest the 2019 event is expected to sell out even faster
- Registration is open to the public on January 1st
The ‘ŠKODA Celtic Cycle Series 2019’ will kick off with the internationally renowned Tour de Conamara in Co. Galway on Saturday 25th May. The event which has a capacity of 2,500 cyclists sold out in just 48hours in 2018 with the 2019 event expected to sell out even faster based on the initial interest and pre-order requests from past participants. The Tour de Conamara has become one of countries most popular sportive cycling events and offers participants the choice of 80km and 140km routes that travel through some of the finest coastal, lakeland and mountainous landscapes in Ireland against the backdrop of breathtaking the Wild Atlantic Way.
The demand for places has seen local hotels and guesthouses benefit also and research conducted by sports tourism specialists W2 Consulting has showed that last year’s event was worth over €800,000 to the local economy based on bed nights and direct expenditure, which took place around the event. This highlights the importance of such sports tourism events to regional economies.
Speaking ahead of the event, Raymond Leddy, Head of Marketing and Product at ŠKODA Ireland commented “No cycling event in Ireland can come close to the Tour de Conamara in terms of the overall experience and quality of the event. Such was the demand for last year’s event we had people offering to swap U2 tickets for Tour de Conamara tickets. It’s a world-class event which always attracts huge levels of interest from home and abroad.”
As part of the ŠKODA Celtic Cycle Series 2019, those that register for both the Tour de Conamara and Ring of Clare cycle in June will be in with a chance to win a cycling holiday for two to either Italy or Morocco. There will also be a prize for those who complete the Triple Crown of ŠKODA Celtic Cycle Series events which concludes with the Tour de Boyne Valley in September.
For further information on the ŠKODA Tour de Conamara go to www.tourdeconamara.ie or www.celticseries.ie
