Ireland’s Shannon Region will host the 2011 Single Speed World Championship Biking Event.
The Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trail, located on the borders of counties Limerick, Tipperary and Cork, will host this event which will feature an estimated 500 competitors from more than 30 countries around the world.
The Championships which are being hosted by Sports Academy International with the support of Shannon Development, will takes place on Saturday, 27 August 2011.
The region successfully beat off all other competition from around the world to host the annual event, which was held this year in New Zealand.
Since 1999 this event has attracted participants from throughout the globe and and hundreds of competitors visiting the southwest next August are expected to attract a much needed boost to the local economy.
Announcing the event Dr. Vincent Cunnane, CEO of Shannon Development said: “Winning this prestigious and colourful event for this area continues to endorse the Shannon Region as a premier sports and event destination, which brings over €60 million in revenue annually. With Limerick City’s designation as the European City of Sport for 2011 and the array of events already secured for the Region, 2011 is going to be a fantastic year.”
The Single Speed World Championship, or SSWC, is an annual event. It is only open to bicycles with a single gear ratio. Those bicycles can be either singlespeeds or ‘fixies’. Most of the bicycles used in these races are mountain bikes. However, many people take part in the race on cyclo-cross bicycles, racing bicycles and bicycles defying easy categorization.
Karen Brosnahan from Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau stated: “Tomas Madigan, joint CEO of Sports AI is a true ambassador for the Shannon Region. He competed in a sports event in New Zealand to win this event for the area beating South Africa and Italy, latter very worthy opponents. We are very proud of his efforts and all the more as he was one of the first people to sign up to the sports ambassadors’ programme, which we operate in partnership with Shannon Development.”
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