CYCLING:WITH THE An Post Rás just over a week away, the Irish quartet of Sam Bennett, Seán Downey, Conor McConvey and Ronan McLaughlin, plus defending champion Gediminas Bagdonas, have been named in a strong An Post Grant Thornton Seán Kelly team.
Bagdonas dominated 12 months ago, winning stages two and four and taking the overall classification. He’s shown good form this year, winning the recent Ronde van Noord-Holland, plus taking second in the Rund um Koln and the Omloop der Kempen.
Bennett has also been performing well, taking third in the same Ronde Van Noord Holland race and picking up second in the Kortenaken-Stok kermesse.
McLaughlin won the king of the mountains prize in last week’s Circuit de Wallonie, while Downey and McConvey rode strongly in the same race, bringing back a dangerous breakaway group and helping team-mate Kenneth Vanbilsen net second at the finish.
Manager Kurt Bogaerts said he faced a tough choice when picking the riders. “Deciding on the team for this year’s Rás was not an easy task. It is a race in which all of the riders want to be involved in, but unfortunately I can only select five to compete,” he said yesterday.
However, in picking four Irish riders, he will benefit from their knowledge of racing on Irish roads. “I think experience will play a vital role in the outcome of this year’s Rás. Bennett and McLaughlin were involved in Bagdonas’ overall win last year, while McConvey finished top under-23 rider and fourth overall in 2010 and Seán Downey was the highest placed Irish rider last year,” said Bogaerts. He added that with four stages in Donegal, McLaughlin’s local knowledge could prove useful. The 2.2-ranked race begins in Dunboyne on May 20th.
Meanwhile, many Irish riders who will take part will also ride this Sunday’s Shay Elliott Memorial. Starting in Bray and finishing 140 kilometres later in Kilpeddar, the race will highlight those in good form.
FIXTURES – Saturday: Corkagh Park races, sign on 11am; Groucho’s GP, sign on 11.30 at Groucho’s Bar, Richill; youth races, Milltown, Co Kildare. First races at 11.30am.
Sunday: Shay Elliott Memorial, starts 11am from Bray Wheelers clubhouse; Celtic Chrono 1.2, starts 9am from Stormont; Tour of the Mournes, sign on 9.30 am at Newry Hockey club; O’Leary and O’Keeffe memorial races, Cork, call 087 2305087 for details; Dunsany CP, starts at 11am; Connacht Road Race League, starts 10.45am at Castlebar; Orwell youth mini-league, Corkagh Park, first races 10am.
