Santos VP WA & NT John Anderson (far left) and the Hon. Paul Henderson, Chief Minister Northern Territory (far right) at the launch.
Australian energy company Santos is delighted to announce its sponsorship of the Top End Gran Fondo, the biggest mass participation cycling event in Darwin.
Santos will become the naming rights sponsor of the annual event, which will be known as the Santos Top End Gran Fondo.
Meaning “big endurance” and originating in Italy, the Gran Fondo is typically a long-distance, timed event involving cyclists of all abilities, from the competitive through to recreational riders.
The inaugural Santos Top End Gran Fondo will be held on Sunday, 12 August 2012, and will involve a 130-kilometre ride from Mandorah to Darwin.
Santos WA&NT Vice President John Anderson said the sponsorship was a fantastic way to promote both a healthy community event and the natural beauty of the Northern Territory.
“We hope this event is popular not only with Territorians but also attracts cyclists from far and wide, and gives them another good reason to travel to the Top End,” he said.
“Santos gets engaged in the communities in which it has a presence and supporting a healthy, mass participation event like this, as we do with the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide and the Santos Great Bike Ride in Perth, makes a lot of sense to us.”
Santos has been a long-time producer of natural gas in the Northern Territory through the Mereenie facility and is the only Australian company with an interest in the Darwin LNG plant at Wickham Point.
It is also in joint venture with French energy company GDF SUEZ to develop the Bonaparte LNG project, in the Bonaparte Basin.
Santos has also been a long-time sponsor of the Darwin Festival, and also supports the Yalari scholarship program for Indigenous children from remote communities and, through Darwin LNG, the West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project.
Filed under:
Community relations, Health, Northern Territory