After the three-day Ras Connachta at Tuam over the weekend, there are just a few more events before the season ends on September 20th, but there are still some important international engagements and the teams have all been finalised. Contrary to expectations, Mark Scanlon will not be in action at Tuam.
National team director Richie Beatty has named Ciaran Power, Aidan Duff, Michael McNena and David O'Loughlin for the world under-23 road race championship at Valkenburg in Holland on October 10th, but before that Power, McNena and O'Loughlin go with Ray Clarke and Brian Kenneally to Japan for the Tour of Hokkaido from September 15th to 20th. Duff is not going to Japan because he is with his French team, Vendee U, in the Tour de l'Avenir which started yesterday.
After the way Scanlon outclassed the opposition in the Junior Tour, junior squad manager Barry Monaghan is keen for him to have a select programme of events building up to the world junior championships.
It was intended that the Ireland team in the Junior Tour, Scanlon, Shane Prendergast, Stephen Gallagher and David Kenneally would ride together at Tuam over the weekend but Gallagher and Kenneally need time to recover from injuries sustained last week and Scanlon's coach Padraig Marrey has advised him to take a break after his exertions. Prendergast will now lead the junior team at Tuam; with him will be Dennis Lynch, Michael McDonagh and Thomas Hogan. On September 19th, Scanlon, Prendergast, Gallagher and Kenneally go to Holland, where they will be joined by Spanishbased Dermot Nally. They will have two weeks of competition and preparation before moving on to Valkenburg for the road race with Scanlon and Nally also to take part in the timetrial.
The Northern Ireland contingent have the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) from next Friday to the following Wednesday. Ian Chivers, Denis Easton, Tommy Evans, Conor Henry, Dave McCall and Neil Teggart contest the road race with Scott Hamilton and David McCann in the time-trial.
Ras Connachta starts with a criterium in Tuam this evening (7.0). Stage two tomorrow (10.0) is over 60 miles with a four miles time-trial at five o'clock and it finishes on Sunday with a stage of 75 miles. The Mid Ulster Grand Prix is also at Cookstown on Sunday.
Sean Bracken has named two Leinster selections for Tuam. The A team is Derry McVeigh, Eoin McGovern, Paul Helion and Dermot Finnegan, while riding for Leinster B are Craig Sweetman, Kenny Conlon, Sean Farrell and Justin McGee. Robin Seymour, who was third in the British points series race at Ludlow last Sunday, heads the Ireland team for the world mountain-bike championships in Quebec (Canada) from September 14th-20th. He contests the elite event with Joe McCall, Alastair Martin, Philip McNamara and Richie McCauley; Craig Brady and Karl Daly are in the under-23 race; the juniors are Matthew Slattery and James O'Carroll while Tarja Owens bids for the women's title. The Irish in the downhill championship will be Glyn O'Brien, John Lawlor, Andrew Yoong and Paul Gilsenan.
The hill-climb championship will be promoted again by Sorrento at Glenmalure on Sunday, September 20th (11.30), finishing at the Shay Elliott monument.
