News: Mapei Sponsor British Club

The Halesowen Athletic and Cycling Club have announced sponsorship from Mapei, which will see the iconic tiled squares design of one of cycling’s most legendary teams figuring on the purple kit of one of the West Midlands best-known cycling clubs.

News: Mapei Sponsor British Club

Halesowen Athletic and Cycling Club are proud to announce sponsorship from Mapei, which will see the iconic tiled squares design of one of cycling’s most legendary teams figuring on the purple kit of one of the West Midlands best-known cycling clubs.

“Cycling has long been part of MAPEI’s DNA” commented Phil Breakspear, Managing Director of Mapei UK Ltd “and to be able to support the sport at a local level within our community is a natural investment for us.”

“This is a total game changer for the Halesowen cycling club, with support from a huge cycling name who have a UK base close to the velodrome where we develop our young riders,” said the HACC chair David Viner. “We would like to thank Mapei for this support. We have a long and proud history of developing talented young cyclists and this new backing will enable us to develop the club on a sustainable basis for the future.”

The initial beneficiaries of the Italian-owned building product manufacturer’s support will be the 10 junior and under-23 riders in the HACC Academy, who launched their new jerseys today. The HACC academy sits at the top of the club’s development ladder which begins with under-10 riders on the club’s outdoor velodrome, where there are daily training sessions and a track league through the summer.

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“We have a very specific goal at the academy, which is to support these riders as they make the transition into the junior and under-23 ranks, and to make sure that when they leave us – hopefully for better things – they are seasoned racers with a real passion for the sport,” said Academy manager William Fotheringham. “Our main role is to give them racing opportunities, particularly in stage races, and Mapei’s support will make that much easier for us to do, so we would really like to thank them for the faith they have shown in us.”

Among the team’s seven juniors are former under-16 national cyclo-cross champion Simon Wyllie, a regular selection for GB last winter, David Hird, Josh Field, and Jonathan Cull, all of whom managed wins in their first seasons as juniors in 2019. Second year junior Charlie Genner joins from Wyre Forest after a strong debut season, and Ryan Brookes moves up from under-16.

Seasoned elite rider Jack Stanton-Warren returns to Halesowen after a year marred by a back injury, with the specific goal of mentoring the juniors thanks to his extensive experience racing at national level. Two riders move on, national squad junior Kinga Ingram to Jadan-Weldtite and Hannah Lancaster to Team OnForm.

“We are always pleased when our riders move to bigger teams as we see our role as facilitating their move higher up the UK competition ladder,” said Fotheringham. “Kinga is one of the brightest prospects in UK women’s racing, and Hannah developed really well in her second year of racing. Looking at the 2020 line-up, I’m proud that we now have one of the biggest junior teams of any cycling club in the UK and that nine of our 10 riders have come through our system.”

“Our objective this year will be to help our six second year juniors build on the fine showing they put up in 2019. I was delighted to get six out of six round the junior Tour of Ireland with relative ease, given five were first year juniors. This year Ireland will be our big objective, as several of the lads have A-levels which will be out of the way by then.”

HACC Academy are also supported by cycle storage system BikeStow, nutrition company Secret Training, ProVision cycle clothing and award-winning deli BroadBean, with additional backing from Wenlock Spring mineral water and Epic Cycles of Ludlow.

Halesowen Academy-Mapei: Ryan Brookes, Jonathan Cull, Josh Field, Patrick Fotheringham, Charlie Genner, David Hird Oscar Laight, Henry Lloyd-Langston, Jack Stanton-Warren, Simon Wyllie