Over 6,500 visitors head to Bike & Tri Show

In its second year, Manchester-set Bike & Triathlon Show saw an upswing in numbers in all the right places.

Attendance grew with over 6,500 visitors through the doors of Manchester Central over the weekend (March 8th and 9th). The show’s floor space increased 33 per cent to fit in the 130 exhibitors (78 in 2013).

A good number of sporting stars helped lure in the punters, including six-time Olympic Champion and 11-time World Champion Sir Chris Hoy, who appeared on Saturday – as did fellow Olympic champs Joanna Rowsell MBE and Chris Boardman MBE. Paralympic gold medallist Dame Sarah Storey made her first official appearance with her new women’s cycle team at the show on Sunday.

“We have had a fantastic response from visitors, exhibitors and guests for this year’s show, and the weekend was a huge success," said Colin Gale, Hamerville Media’s event manager.

"It was brilliant to welcome everyone, not only the serious participants but beginners wanting to find out more. The North West sporting community is very active and Manchester is the home to the National Cycle Centre where some of our top athletes are based, and we hope the event can continue to grow year-on-year.”

ABOVE: Attendees cram themselves around the main stage to see Sir Chris Hoy

Sponsors to the show included British Cycling, Zoggs, BikeBiz, Sports Tours International, Triathlon England, Royles, USN and National Open Water Coaching Association. Cycling brands exhibiting at the show included ADR Carbon, Anna Nichoola, Azione, Boardman Bikes, Cannondale, Cervelo, Dolan Bikes, Fi’zi:k, Kask, KTM, Matrix, Planet X, PowerBar, Provision Cycle clothing, Purple Harry, Rose, Roux, Schwalbe, Starley, Trek, Wattbike and Willier. From the world of triathlon was USN, Zoggs, Huub, 2XU, Ceepo, Rotor, Champion systems, Compress sport, Z3R0D, Blueseventy, Zoot, Lezyne, Speedfil, Compex, Orca, Hilly, Torq, High5, Mailsports International showcased their latest products.

New and exclusive to this year’s show was the Street Velodrome, the UK’s only pop-up indoor racing track cycle event, which is set to tour the UK as a televised series later this year. Visitors also had the opportunity to get involved with the Rollapuluza cycle challenge, ride the cycle Sportive out to the Peak District and take part in taster sessions on the velodrome at the National Cycle Centre.