SHIMANO 24 CANCELLED

The Shimano 24 - which was due to be Britain's first 24-hour road race - has been cancelled due to lack of entries.

In a statement issued yesterday, the organisers said:

It is with great regret that the organisers of the Shimano 24 hour road challenge, Provelo is forced to cancel this year?s event. Despite research indicating a huge level of interest in such an event, the actual level of sign-up has made it uncommercial to continue.

All teams who have submitted entries will have their fees refunded by cheque by Provelo Support and these will be posted shortly. Provelo apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Madison (Shimano distributors to the UK market and headline sponsors of the event) was very disappointed to hear of the news from Provelo, but would like to thank all those who had put in so much hard work to bring the race concept to life, especially the support from the Army, British Cycling and the events co-sponsors.

The Shimano 24 was due to take place over July 12-13, 2008, on a closed circuit at the Sennybridge army training area, near Brecon, Powys, Wales, and was modelled on the extremely successful Mountain Mayhem 24-hour mountain bike event.

Entry for the Shimano 24 was £210 per team of five riders, which was obviously too much for many road riders to stomach.

For further information on the cancellation, contact Provelo Support, Vein Cottage, Reapsmoor, Longnor, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 0LG. Web: www.shimano24.com.