In only their third Melbourne Tour de PIF, Texco have come on board as Major Sponsor and are fielding a team of 35 riders to tackle the Yarra Valley course on 15 November.
Texco are also champion fundraisers, topping our leaderboard for the past two years in a row and raising over $85,000 for youth homelessness. Tom Bull, Director Texco Construction says the tour inspires teamwork and comradery. “There’s something pretty special about taking part in a shared challenge like the Melbourne Tour de PIF that can really galvanise a group. Catching up with everyone as they come across the finish line and chatting over a couple of cold refreshments in Healesville after the race – you don’t get many better Friday afternoons than that.”
Taking up Major Sponsorship of the event was a way to extend their support for the industry’s beloved annual cycling event. “This is our third year participating in the Tour de PIF and considering how much our business has embraced the event, we wanted to extend our involvement by coming on board as Major Sponsor,” says Tom. “At last count, we had a team of about 35 taking part in the day’s festivities, with the majority of those tackling the 70km course. We’ve got a couple of first timers joining us as well, so we’re looking forward to seeing how they handle the challenge.”
Texco attributes their fundraising success to expert networking. “Calling in a lot of favours helps,” jokes Tom. “In all seriousness though, we’re fortunate to have a generous and charitable network of consultants, sub-contractors and friends of Texco who – when the call does go out – don’t seem to have any issue reaching into their pockets and getting behind such a worthy cause. The entire group is also diligent with reaching out to family and friends in the lead-up, as well as our extended networks to achieve a good outcome on the day and support a worthy cause.”
With race day coming up quickly on 15 November, Texco is putting more milage into their legs. “We all enjoy the opportunity to train together as a group, with morning rides kicking off from the office 2 or 3 times a week before work, so that gets us in good nick for the race,” says Tom. “The entire group is a reasonably competitive bunch and we’re simply trying to push one another to get the best out of ourselves. That seemed to manifest in a very tired set of Texco riders at the top of the hill last year and a pretty competitive time.”
Texco have a secret weapon in their team this year. “We also have a close association with a talented young rider, Fergus Browning, the current National U23 Road Race champ who will be joining the Texco team to ride this year,” says Tom. “He’s just back from his euro season and the entire group is really keen to ride with such an inspirational young person – and also have him drag us along some of the more challenging sections.”
