CYCLING: DAVID McCANN continued his strong show of form in the Tour of Hainan in China yesterday, jumping from 10th to third overall after nabbing two intermediate sprints. The time bonuses gained saw McCann take back six seconds from the other riders.
The Belfast man was clear out front with 40km to go, but realised the stage win was unlikely due to a strong headwind and a determined chase. He eased back and rolled home in Wenchang as part of the main bunch, being classified in the same time as the victor, Boris Shpilevsky (Russian National Team).
McCann starts today's stage 24 seconds behind Shpilevsky in the general classification, and is just one second behind Brad Huff (Jelly Belly), who is second overall. He's also third in the points classification.
"The bonuses proved significant last year so I am happy to have taken some time early on," he stated.
Meanwhile, Nicolas Roche returned to on-bike training this week, having recovered from the bad crash he suffered during the world road race championships at the end of September. The 24-year-old fell a week after finishing an excellent 13th in the Tour of Spain, thus losing his chance to ride well in the worlds.
"I'm going to Guadeloupe to start training in the sun," he said. "I will go for a mini-training camp for 10 days, then I will go directly to the Ag2r team's training camp in Temple Sur Lot. That runs for 10 days, from the ninth to the 19th of December."
Roche, who will begin his season in the Tour Down Under in Australia, has pinpointed a good performance in Paris-Nice as his first goal.
Finally, a book by the late Jim Traynor on the FBD Insurance Rás/Rás Tailteann will be officially published today. It documents each stage of the race held since the inaugural event in 1953.
Fixtures
Sunday: Cyclo-cross league, round two, Tymon Park, noon. Gerard Brannigan Memorial Cycle, McDonalds Pub, Clonee, 10am.
