Gearing up to Sprint for Success!
The race for up and coming riders on Grand Prix night Wednesday 16 July 7pm has a new name and a headline sponsor.
Fort Vale Engineering is headline sponsor for the Sprint for Success race which takes place just before the Colne Grand Prix.
Councillor Paul White who leads on enterprise and promotion explained:
“We’re gearing up for the big night and the Sprint for Success race will see some of the best youth riders in the country battling it out on the streets of Colne.
“It’s brilliant that a world leader in engineering, established in Pendle back in the 1960s, is backing this race and investing in cycling in Pendle.
“This is what makes Pendle a key part of the UK’s cycling capital – Lancashire!” He added.
The full programme for Grand Prix and Sprint for Success night is available from our website www.pendle.gov.uk/colnegrandprix
Shaun Laycock, General Manager at Fort Vale and a keen cyclist himself, said:
“Fort Vale’s a Pendle born company with a lot of cyclists among our 350 plus employees.
“We have a very successful apprenticeship programme for young engineers and that’s why it made sense for us to sponsor the race for up and coming riders, who might be the cycling stars of tomorrow,” he explained.
“There may be some future Olympic champions in the Fort Vale Sprint for Success race on 16th July!”, he added.
Fort Vale’s Stacey Ingham who works at their Nelson foundry won the competition to name the Sprint for Success race, will be there to cheer riders on.
Fort Vale will be out in force for the Sprint for Success race on the night, including their Apprentice Training Manager, Alan Emerton.
Young rider Tim Jones from Cycle Sport Pendle will be racing in this race for his second year.
Young under 16 riders tipped to win include the highly ranked Robert Scott from Yorkshire.
Another young rider who’ll be one to watch is Henrietta Colborne of the Beacon Wheelers.
Race organiser, Ivor Armstrong of Cycling Development North West said:
“Henrietta is a very solid rider who rides hard – and she may be the only girl riding in the Sprint for Success race!”
ends
Note to editors:
Fort Vale Engineering Limited was founded in Nelson in 1967 and is the world leader in the precision manufacture of valves and fittings for the transportation of bulk liquids, gas and hazardous cargo in tank containers including off shore tankers, road tanker and for rail industries.
Edward S. Fort OBE Founder and Chairman for Fort Vale said:
“I began my career as an apprentice at Rolls Royce in Barnoldswick, 62 years ago in 1952, only 10 years after Sir Frank Whittle made his first jet engine in the same Rolls Royce factory.
“I have always been a firm believer in providing a comprehensive apprenticeship programme; it is the apprentices of today who have “the Field Marshall’s baton in their hands”. – See more at: http://apprentice.fortvale.com/#sthash.STyo1uyZ.dpuf
The company still has its foundry in Nelson but relocated its HQ to state-of-the-art factory in nearby Simonstone.
Fort Vale is a significant exporter, notably to China. The company employs 330 people locally, with 150 more at its subsidiaries in the USA, Holland, Russia, Australia, Singapore, and China.