Cycling Sheffield hope to gain more support after a successful team launch

Cycling Sheffield are back on track as they launched their new team for 2022 at the Sheffield Hallam University Advanced Well Being Research Centre.
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During the pandemic, the team lost a year and a half of racing, and despite some competitions returning last May, things still seemed uncertain.

Unsurprisingly, the team struggled with maintaining relationships with sponsors, with the racing scene looking quiet.

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Dave Coulson at Cycling Sheffield said in an interview: “When it’s your business, your job its quite difficult".

Cycling Sheffield's team at their season launch earlier this weekCycling Sheffield's team at their season launch earlier this week
Cycling Sheffield's team at their season launch earlier this week

But being away from the competitive side of the sport for so long made the launch feel more sentimental.

The team now feels more confident with a calendar packed full of races, and there is a sense of ‘bounce-back’ optimism, as Dave Coulson described.

With a turn-out of around 50 people, the club soon realised what they had missed out on due to restrictions.

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The success of this launch makes the team optimistic about upcoming events, including the new Under-23 National Road Series that aims to improve progression opportunities for young cyclists.

This race is great for the club that is keen to support the development of its riders.

One rider in the club to look out for is James Hartley.

James, from Sheffield, placed within the top 10 in two stages of the Junior Tour of Wales last year.

He has recently moved up from the junior squad, and the team will hope to see him gain more success this year.

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David Coulson also mentioned that the club is always looking to encourage more people to support the team.

The team, he said, aims to “create a profile that is strongly rooted and connected to Sheffield”.

This aim explains why Cycling Sheffield is named after the city instead of its leading sponsor, unlike other professional teams such as INEOS.

Following this launch, Cycling Sheffield hopes to raise more awareness of themselves and gain more attention from the people in the city.