Following his recent signing by the St Quentin Oktos team, Irish professional cyclist Ciaran Power is set to make his racing debut with the squad in tomorrow's 1.2-ranked Tour du Haut Var. The 24-year-old will then go on to dispute the 1.3 Classic Haribo on Sunday, also in France.
Power has expressed satisfaction with his current level of fitness, after faring well in last weekend's team training camp in the St Quentin area.
Ireland's second professional, national road champion David McCann, is also set to make his debut with the CCC Mat squad in Switzerland on March 4th, before contesting two Italian races on the 6th and 8th.
Meanwhile, the Team Ireland cyclists will dispute the GP Lillers on March 11th as the their first official outing. Morgan Fox (ASPTT Montpellier), Brian Kenneally (VS Hyeres), Michael McNena and Tommy Evans (both VC La Pomme) have already started racing with their French clubs, settling for bunch finishes. The fifth member of Team Ireland, Stephen O'Sullivan, remains in Ireland because of a forthcoming exam and is likely to start his season in the Cycleways Cup in Navan next weekend. David O'Loughlin has made a last-minute withdrawal from the squad due to an offer from the highly-ranked Division One amateur team CC Nogent-sur-Oise. Mark Scanlon, following the collapse of the Linda McCartney team, is expected to make a decision shortly on his destination for 2001.
Finally, Peter Purfield and Eamon Lawlor have been confirmed as managers to oversee the cross-country and downhill mountain bike squads this year. Many of these riders will attend the prize presentation for last season's MTB championships this Sunday at the Martello Hotel in Bray.
FIXTURES: February 25th: The Lacey Perpetual Trophy race in Tralee starts at 12:30 p.m.. For further details contact Anthony O' Halloran: 066-7122820 (w), Matt Lacey 0872258159. ICF Mountain Bike NPS Prize Presentation in Martello Hotel, Bray at 3.00pm. Preceded by a meeting/workshop with race organisers and competitors, starting 1.30 p.m..
Lakeland CC reliability trial, Fivemiletown. Contact Kenny Dunlop at 048-89521681 for details.
