OldVelos Vintage Cycling Festival
August 28th 2021 Curraghmore House Waterford
OldVelos Cycling Festival is an annual event held in Ireland since 2014 which celebrates the riding and craftsmanship of vintage racing bicycles. Inspired by the famous 20 year old Italian L’Eroicia event held in Tuscany each year, which attracts over 30.000 cycling enthusiasts from all over the world. In 2017 & 2018 OldVelos was successful in accumulating two nominations by Cycling Ireland for The Event of the Year shortlist. Originally called The OldVelos Classic in 2019 the name was amended to The OldVelos Cycling Festival, a testimony to the increasing popularity and addition of activities to this celebration of classic cycling.
The event's first route was in Killarney in 2014 and the route crossed over the challenging and picturesque Gap of Dunloe. The sponsors were Randle Brothers Nissan Dealership. A second event was run in 2015 which attracted more riders and was jointly sponsored by Event Services Ireland, Randle Brothers Nissan Dealers, iBike Killarney and Flogas.
In 2019 the event organizers decided to change the location of the OldVelos Cycling Festival to the Waterford Greenway, this repurposed railway line was the ideal venue with a positive heritage value. However, with the increased success and growth in numbers another location was identified, Curraghmore House in Waterford which can facilitate a significantly larger group of participants. Curraghmore house is the historic home of the 9th Marquis of Waterford with 2,500 acres of formal gardens and grazing fields make this the largest private demesne in Ireland.
Another two strands were added to OldVelos Cycling festival in 2019 : ‘Tweed and Twine’ and ‘Concours d’Elegance. Tweed and Twine celebrates the classic bicycle, the High Nellie in particular and is an opportunity for enthusiasts to show and compare their prized vintage bikes and enjoy spending time cycling with fellow cyclists.
The Concours d’Elegance is a competition of classic vintage bicycles including Best Original, Best Restored, Best French, Best Dutch & Belgain, Best Italian, Best UK & Ireland, Best Neo-Retro. The winner takes home the coveted ‘Longford Vintage Tractor Spares’ perpetual trophy. This year there is an additional Grass Track Race added to the program, Curraghmore House are constructing a bespoke grass track for this race which was held in town sports days and has not been held since 1986.
Register here: OldVelos Vintage Festival - Buy Tickets (eventmaster.ie)
OldVelos Vintage Classic on the Waterford Greenway 2018