Over 1,800 cyclists took part in Ireland’s first ever closed road mass participation cycling event in County Clare on Sunday.

The inaugural Sky Ride Etape Hibernia attracted cyclists from all over Ireland and the UK, as well as from throughout Europe and USA. Participants cycled 82 miles of traffic free roads in some of West of Ireland’s most scenic locations, including the Atlantic coastline and the world famous Burren Region.

Thousands of spectators turned out in excellent weather conditions to cheer on the participants who included cycling legend Sean Kelly, British Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis and Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan.
The event was organised by IMG, in partnership with Sky, Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Development, the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau and Clare County Council. Sky, the UK and Ireland’s leading entertainment company behind the Sky Ride series of cycling events, is the title sponsor of the Sky Ride Etape Hibernia. Other sponsors include adidas, ZipVit, Clare Spring Water, Chain Reaction Cycles, The Times, Clare FM, Men’s Fitness and Cycling Weekly.
Jo Dytch, spokesperson for IMG said: “Today represents a milestone day for mass participation events in Ireland considering this is the country’s first closed road non-professional cycle event. Along with our partners we now look forward to establishing Sky Ride Etape Hibernia as a major fixture on the Irish sporting calendar over the next five years delivering a significant boost to the local economy. The feedback from participants today was overwhelmingly positive with many commenting on the spectacular, challenging and fun nature of the route.”

Mark Deering, Director of Sky Ireland said: “We are proud to be the main sponsor for the Sky Ride Etape Hibernia. Our Sky Ride initiatives this year and last year have encouraged thousands of people of all ages and abilities to get on their bikes. We hope, through events and sponsorships such as this, that greater numbers of people will be inspired to take up cycling.”
Speaking about the potential of sports tourism events, John King, Assistant Chief Executive, Shannon Development, and a participant in the Sky Ride Etape Hibernia, said: “Sports tourism is already worth an estimated 60 million euro annually to the Shannon Region economy. In this context the Sky Ride Etape Hibernia is a very welcome addition to the region’s growing portfolio of sports tourism events. Adventure tourism is a lucrative market for the Irish tourism sector with activity tourists spending up to 40% more than the average tourist.”
Mr. King, who himself participated in today’s cycle added: “We will continue to work with IMG and our partners to ensure that this superb event continues to gather more fans and followers year on year and reaches its potential of attracting 5,000 participants and generating 10 million euro over the course of 5 year staging of the event in County Clare.”
Participants of Sky Ride Etape Hibernia have helped to raise awareness for Sky’s charity partnership with WWF, Sky Rainforest Rescue, a project to save one billion trees in the Amazon rainforest.