Defending champion Julian Winn is set to defend his FBD Milk Ras title this year, with the announcement that race organiser Dermot Dignam has been given the green light to relax previous restrictions on British teams. Following discussions with the Department of Agriculture's Expert group, riders will be allowed to attend provided they adhere to strict precautions, including the disinfection of bicycles and team vehicles.
Both the five-man Irish team for the Ras and a six-rider selection for the Lincoln Grand Prix will be announced next Wednesday by National road manager Declan Byrne, after this weekend's world-ranked Tour of the Ardennes. Tommy Evans, Michael McNena, Brian Kenneally, Morgan Fox and Stephen O'Sullivan have been named for the 2.6 ranked four day race.
Professional Ciaran Power fine-tunes his participation for the legendary Paris-Roubaix classic on Sunday by competing in today's GP Pino Cerami, while fellow pro David McCann is to ride in a Polish three-day. Both McCann and Mark Scanlon have indicated that they would be available for the Irish team for the Ras, if selected.
As regards Scanlon, the 20year-old has returned from racing with his Nantes 44 team in France due to reported dissatisfaction with the set-up. Although his manager Frank Quinn expects that Scanlon will eventually return, he will race here and with the Irish team until the end of May at least, and may line out in the four-day Ras Mumhan which starts today.
Missing will be Irish under-23 champion David O'Loughlin, who is recovering from a tooth abscess and the flu, and will not race until next weekend.
