Gear News

Prendas release replica Raleigh-Banana kit to raise money for Dave Rayner Fund

Dorset-based clothing specialist has raised more than £18,000 to support young cyclists - and hopes to smash £20,000 target by Christmas

Prendas Ciclismo, the Dorset-based clothing specialist, has donated more than £18,000 to the Dave Rayner Fund for young professional cyclists – and hopes to push through the £20,000 barrier by Christmas by producing a replica Raleigh-Banana kit.

Prendas, whose support for young riders runs from a youthful Bradley Wiggins to the Drops Cycling Team, has so far raised money for the Dave Rayner Fund from sales of a kit produced in partnership with coffee machine manufacturer Rocket Espresso Milano.

In February 2014, Prendas chief Mick Tarrant and Rocket Espresso boss Andrew Meo agreed that £10 from the sale of every garment sold would be donated to the fund. Their generosity has resulted in a recent donation of £18,000 to the Dave Rayner Fund, a charity that in recent years has helped propel the likes of Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE) and new Team Sky recruit Tao Geoghegan-Hart to the professional ranks.

The replica Raleigh-Banana kit was displayed at the Dave Rayner Fund’s annual fundraising dinner (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWPix.com)

Now Prendas have unveiled a new kit in a bid to break through the £20,000 fund raising barrier by Christmas: faithful reproductions of the shorts and jersey of the Raleigh Banana team with which Dave Rayner, who tragically died aged 27, raced in 1988 and 1989.

Tarrant said: “We are very pleased to return this eye-catching jersey back to the marketplace. Given the fact that Dave Rayner rode for the team, we felt it was only right that the Dave Rayner Fund received a £10 donation for every garment sold.

“Along with sales of the existing Rocket Espresso Milano garments, we hope these two new garments will help us hit the twenty thousand pound mark during the festive sales period.”

Rayner, who later raced in the ProTour with Buckler, gained a place in cycling’s top tier when support for British riders racing abroad barely existed. He died from injuries caused by a doorman during an incident outside a nightclub in Bradford in November 1994.

The fund set up to honour his memory has raised over £600,000 to support young British riders racing abroad. David Millar and Charly Wegelius were among its first beneficiaries.

Prendas is famed for the accuracy of its reproduction kits, and the Raleigh Banana kit, manufactured by Santini, is faithful in every detail. The fabric, however, is a modern synthetic mix, and equipped with a 14cm front zip.

Tao Geoghegan-Hart (centre left) and James Shaw (centre right) were jointly named rider of the year for the Dave Rayner Fund in 2016 (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWPix.com)

Jos Ryan of the Dave Rayner Fund described the £18,000 donation from sales of the Rocket Espresso Milano kit as “great news”.

“The Fund is very grateful to both Prendas Ciclismo and Rocket Espresso Milano for their continued support. These funds make a very real difference to young riders allowing them to experience life abroad in their quest to become professional cyclists,” she said.

– Interview: Level-headed James Shaw ready for the WorldTour after signing for Lotto-Soudal –

Twenty seven riders were backed by the Dave Rayner Fund in 2016, with Geoghehan-Hart and James Shaw, who will also graduate to the WorldTour in January after signing with Lotto-Soudal, handed the rider of the year award at last weekend’s annual fundraising dinner.

You can find the Raleigh-Banana retro jersey on the Prendas website here, while the accompanying bib shorts can be found here. Both items are expected to be in stock from December.