Olympic Gold Medallist and Colne-boy, Steven Burke MBE yesterday launched the 2018 Fort Vale Colne Grand Prix, which will serve as the final of event of the HSBC UK National Circuit Series, with support races alongside.
Steven joined employees and Directors from Fort Vale as well as Paul Foxley, Chair of Colne Town Council at the engineering company’s Simonstone site to launch the event.
Thousands of cycling fans and local residents will line Colne High Street for the event from 6.15pm on Wednesday, 25th July 2018.
This will be the fifteenth year that the Colne Grand Prix has been held and the third year that Colne Town Council have been its organisers. Steven Burke was there, as a spectator, for the first event 15 years ago.
Chairman of Colne Town Council Paul Foxley said “We’re delighted once again to be hosting the Grand Prix which is such a huge event for Colne. Our town really is on the up and it’s great to have the chance to welcome thousands of visitors to Colne to see it first hand”.
Steven Burke got to see Fort Vale’s brand new Wilson Fort Sports Centre, a bespoke facility for the use the company’s employees, first hand.
He said “It was great to see what Fort Vale are doing in terms of actively promoting the health and wellbeing of their employees and they’re clearly great sup
porters of cycling too, not only sponsoring Colne Grand Prix but supporting Jack Thomas, one of their employees too”.
“Of course I’m proud that Colne is hosting the Grand Prix again, it’s great that my home town has fallen in love with cycling so much and it’s great that it attracts so many people to the town”.
Fort Vale have taken over the headline sponsorship of the event for the first time having previously sponsored the support race.
Shaun Laycock, General Manager of Fort Vale said “We have so many keen cyclists at Fort Vale and the health and wellbeing of our employees is really important to us, so this is a really good fit for us”.
“Colne is the toughest race in the National Circuit Series, which will make it a fantastic event. We’re really proud to be associated with it, to support our local community and to encourage people to become more active”.
