CyclingIrish professional Dermot Nally had a very solid ride on yesterday's fourth stage of the Setmana Catalana event, reaching the summit finish at El Port De Comte in 30th place, just one minute and 53 seconds behind the stage winner, Levi Leipheimer of Rabobank.
An indication of Nally's good ride can be gleaned from the presence of Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Roberto Laiseka in his 11-man group.
Valverde is regarded as one of the most exciting new talents in cycling, having finished second in the World Championships last October and winning several races this season.
Laiseka has taken mountain stages in both the Tour de France and Tour of Spain.
Mark Scanlon will this weekend line out in the two-day, three-stage Criterium International event in France. The 23-year-old Sligoman showed he is in good form with a fine performance in the Milan San Remo classic last Saturday.
Scanlon crossed the line in 78th place, 27 seconds behind the winner, Oscar Freire, but feels he would have finished much higher up the field had a rider in front of him not allowed a gap open on the high-speed descent of the Poggio, with less than three miles remaining.
"I got over the top of the climb okay and was looking forward to the sprint," said Scanlon, "but a guy from the Panaria team let a gap open on the descent and that really messed things up for a few of us; we tried to get back up but being that close to the finish, it was too late.
"Had that not happened, I think I could have taken a top-15 place in the race."
To domestic racing, and a number of good fixtures are being held this weekend.
The Balbriggan club are holding their Harry Reynolds and Ben McKenna memorials, while the Cicli Sport GP, the Ken O'Keeffe Memorial and a Mayo League race in Westport are also listed.
FIXTURES: Sunday: Ben McKenna Memorial, Balbriggan, 11 am. Mayo league, Westport, 11 am. Ken O'Keeffe Memorial Criterium, Cork, 1 pm (supporting event at 11.45). Irish Veteran Cycling Association DMS, Ashbourne, 10 am. Moneyscalp winter DH series round 4, Moneyscalp, noon.
