Dave Rayner began his career as a cyclist like many others, racing in the UK and demonstrating his talent on the domestic racing scene. It didn’t take long however for Dave to show his exceptional talent when he bagged the 1984 National Junior Road Race championship. Dave took the tough choice back then to go race aboard in Italy. His career soared perhaps peaking with a two year spell with the Pro team ‘Buckler’ of the early 90’s managed by the infamous Jan Rass.
After his tragic death, the cycling community wanted to support his memory by giving other young riders the chance to follow in his path and since then over £600,000 in grants have been given to young riders to enable them to race abroad. They have included David Millar, one of the very first recipients, through to more recent champions like Adam Yates. Millar and Adam Yates will be key guests as we look back on David’s career and how the fund supported him in his early years and Adam more recently as the fund marks its 20th year at the annual dinner on Nov 8th in Leeds.
Riders, fans and friends will converge on Leeds to celebrate the achievements of the Dave Rayner Fund over two decades. The evening will be anchored by one of cycling’s most memorable voices in the form of Anthony McCrossan. There will be interviews with some of the riders who the fund has supported and an auction takes place featuring some unique pieces of memorabilia donated by some of the biggest and most recognisable names in cycling.
The 2014 UCI Women’s World Cup Champion, Lizzie Armitstead will join David Millar, Adam and Simon Yates, Ben Swift, Ian Stannard and Russ & Dean Downing. Gary Verity (CEO Welcome to Yorkshire) will also be joining us as we relive the amazing Tour de France Grand Depart.
The night will comprise of welcome drinks, a 3 course meal, a silent and live auction and dancing until late. Around one third of the ticket price goes directly into the fund with all auction and raffle funds generated also going towards funding riders.
The Fund welcomes anyone with an interest in cycling to attend. By supporting the dinner, you get to spend an evening in the company of some of the great names of the sport whilst at the same time directly funding the discovery and development of the next generation of champions of cycle sport.