Nine stages into what is his first race as a professional, Ciaran Power has illustrated that he is clearly swimming, rather than sinking, as the Tour of Langkawi progresses. The 23-year-old shrugged off the effects of a crash at the end of Wednesday's stage and broke clear early on s yesterday's stage, driving a large break towards the finish in the Malaysian city of Kajang.
Best placed of those in the break, Power rode hard to gain time and consequently was distanced when the attacks started 10 kilometres from the finish of the 115 km stage. The Waterford rider crossed the line in 13th place, one minute 55 seconds behind stage winner Guido Trenti of the USA, but over three-and-a-half minutes ahead of the main bunch containing overall leader Chris Horner.
Power has justifiably earned the praise of his Linda McCartney team, and this latest display moves him up 11 places to 29th overall. Indeed, had he not punctured earlier in the week it is probable that he would be challenging for a place in the top 20. s Today's stage finishes with a steep climb to Genting and is likely to cause the last real shuffling of the overall classification before the race concludes with a criterium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Ireland's other new professional, Morgan Fox, remains in Ireland while receiving treatment for astigmatism of the eyes. The 25-year-old from Athlone departs for Spain early next week where he will meet up with his Tonissteiner team-mates prior to his debut, the Lloret De Mar (12th-19th February). From there he is due to ride the Belgian semiclassic Het Volk on the 26th and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 24 hours later, with the Three Days of De Panne, the Tour of Flanders and Ghent-Wevelgem other top events which the Belgian squad aims to contest in the opening weeks of the season.
Mark Scanlon was initially scheduled to leave for the VC Etupes base on Tuesday, but following a spell of hard training in Lanzarotte, the 1998 World Junior Champion has deferred his debut with the top French amateur outfit until later in the month.
Recently named as part of the Olympic squad, Bill Moore has been forced to forfeit his place on the teams for the forthcoming Tour of Rhodes and the Tour of Egypt. The Stamullen rider was training with other members of the squad in Stephen s Roche's camp in Majorca when he fell and broke his collarbone, putting him out of action for three weeks. David McCann is also due to miss the Rhodes race, opting instead for two races at altitude in America which he feels will optimise his preparation for Egypt. Stephen Sullivan O'Sullivan is likely to replace McCann, while s Moore's absence means that another rider, yet to be named, will travel to the two events.
Finally, after he was controversially excluded from the Atlanta Mountain-biking squad, the Irish Cycling Federation have announced that Robin Seymour will represent Ireland in Sydney. Work commitments will prevent national team director Richie Beatty from travelling, so Tony Allen will act as team manager in Australia.
