Community Investment & Corporate Social Responsibility

Founder Sharon and Director Jools both have achieved success in sporting fields in and for the Isle of Man, and the positive benefits that has had on both of their lives underpins their motivation and commitment to supporting island sport now and into the future.

Sharon is a keen cyclist and competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She was also a member of Isle of Man Sport formerly the Isle of Man Sports Council for 12 years.

Thornton Chartered Financial Planners are proud to sponsor Will Draper, a professional middle-distance Triathlete living and training on the Isle of Man. Will started out as a cyclist winning the British National Championship when he was 12 and then the British National Madison championship on the velodrome when he was 16. Will is now in his fourth year racing as a triathlete. Listen here to Will’s life story to date in Island Influencers episode 43.

We are also supporting Manx Professional Cyclist Tom Mazzone, who said:

I look forward to building on a winning momentum into 2022, continuing to perform at the highest level and working hard to achieve my personal and team goals this season, some of which include international events such as the European UCI races, Tour of Britain and the Commonwealth Games. I know that I am the best that I have ever been going into 2022 and I am very confident that we will be able to achieve all these ambitions and much more.

Tom and Will have both been selected for the Isle of Man team at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Listen here to Tom Mazzone in episode 58 of Island Influencers, where he explains how he got into cycling and found an elite team to join, some of the challenges he needed to overcome in his career to date, and his big goals.

We are also pleased to support cyclist Adam Kelly, who is racing in Belgium for a team called Urbano-Vulsteke Cycling Team.

We are also delighted to support junior cyclists Jess Pickavance and Sophie Smith.

Jess is excited to see where cycling takes her in the next few years.

Currently I’m 14 and a first year U16 riding for RL360 Isle of Man, I enjoy training hard and racing the national series. I have had multiple top 5 and podiums in the past 12 months and I’m hoping to go further in the future. In the next few years I’d like to join a team and get the opportunity to race internationally at the highest level. I am confident that in the next few years I will be able to achieve the results that will get me there.

Sophie is 15 and is also currently riding as a U16 girl for Team RL360 Isle of Man. This is her last year competing in youth cycling and she wishes to continue at junior level, then hopefully compete at an even higher level.

This year I have completed in the British Cycling National YouthSeries. I have had many good results recently including top 5s and hope to improve to get even better than this in the future. My main aim for this year is to obtain more stage podiums and to continue to improve in local races.

For 2022 and away from 2-wheel sport we are supporting Nick Ellis who races in the Junior Kart Championship for Kartal Motorsport.

We are following all our supported athletes’ seasons closely (we hope you can too!!) and are encouraging them every step of the way! We’re so proud of the commitment they make to their chosen paths and in so doing help raise the profile of the Isle of Man.

Over the years, the Isle of Man cycling club structure has driven a very healthy competitive environment which has generated much success on both national and international level. Indeed Thornton sponsors a number of up and coming potential future stars!

However, there comes a time in life when the desire (let alone ability) to compete as a cyclist recedes somewhat, just like average speed! This does not mean we are ready to hang up our wheels.

Many academically researched peer-reviewed articles have shown that recreational sport and community play an important part in well-being, hence our decision to sponsor the design and production of the Alternative Fast Group (AFG) kit.