CYCLING: Second-year professional Philip Deignan is showing solid form upon his return to racing after breaking a collarbone earlier this season. While the AG2R Prévoyance rider was not listed amongst the finishers in his first event back, Sunday's GP Cholet, he has been faring better in the Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali stage race in Italy this week.
Deignan was 81st on Wednesday's second stage and then placed 97th yesterday, seven minutes and eight seconds behind 2004 Tour of Italy winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital). He is 85th overall.
Although Deignan is midway down the field, the performance suggests that he has fared better than might have been expected, in terms of retaining some racing condition. His form should improve over the weeks ahead, with strong rides in the summer stage races likely to be a big target. When fully fit, Deignan is a strong climber and should perform well in such events.
Irish road race champion David O'Loughlin was 118th yesterday and is now 156th overall heading into today's 184.4km from Carpi to Finale Emilia.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland rider Lewis Ferguson finished 19th in the Commonwealth Games MTB race yesterday, ending the cross country event 17 minutes and 35 seconds behind the 23-year-old winner Liam Killeen.
Chris Jongewaard (Australia) was the early leader but was caught on the penultimate lap by Oli Beckingsale (England) and Seamus McGrath (Canada). The two leaders were then joined and dropped by Killeen, who soloed in to the finish 15 seconds clear of his compatriot and 32 seconds up on McGrath.
Best performance thus far in the Games has come from Michael Hutchinson and David McCann in Tuesday's time trial. They finished just outside the medals, finishing fourth and fifth. The final event for the squad is the road race on Sunday.
Finally, the organisers of this Sunday's Bohermeen races have been forced to cancel the fixture.
Saturday: Christy McManus Memorial, Roundwood, GAA club 11am; MTB DH coaching weekend, Clashnacrona Woods, near Dunmanway, Co Cork. Contact Richard 087 9785178; XCO Youth Spring League, Castle Park, Bangor, noon; Wallace Caldwell Memorial Race, Ballymena, 11am.
Sunday: Sheeffry Grand Prix, Mayo, 11am, contact Joe McGuire at 086 8702062; Ken O'Keeffe Memorial, Whitechurch, Co Cork, noon; PJ Logan Cup, Coalisland, 1.30pm.
