Bennett at GP Stad Zottegem: May ride the Tour of Britain before the U23 World Champs (Photo: www.at-evh.be)
The Irish riders in the An Post-Sean Kelly team face the GP Jef Scherens (1.1) in Belgium this Sunday as a tune-up before the Tour of Britain and also as a chance to confirm their place for the British stage race outing.
Taking to the line as part of an eight-man line-up in Leuven will be Ronan McLaughlin, Sam Bennett and Sean Downey.
McLaughlin is short listed for the elite Irish team at the World Road Race Championships in Valkenburg exactly one week after the Tour of Britain ends. If he were to ride in Britain he would have a week to recover for the Worlds if he is selected.
He has been riding very strongly this season and rode well in Britain last year, suggesting he has a very good chance of selection for the race this year.
Advertisement
Downey and Bennett are both riding the U23 road race at the Worlds, which falls on Saturday, September 22nd, leaving them with six days to recover after the Tour of Britain.
However, Downey has also been picked for the World U23 TT and because that is being run the day after the Tour of Britain ends, it looks certain he will not ride in Britain.
That just leaves the place of Bennett at the Tour of Britain in any doubt. However, with ten top finishes in the U23 European Road Race Championships and GP Stad Zottegem in recent weeks his form is very good and he would seem a likely selection for Britain.
Related News
The An Post-Sean Kelly team’s other Irish rider, Conor McConvey is not riding this weekend in Belgium. However, a hard race with climbing like the Tour of Britain would certainly suit him, as he proved in the An Post Rás back in May when he was by far the team’s strongest rider in the race for the GC.
Joining Bennett, Downey and McLaughlin this Sunday will be the Belgian duo of Pieter Ghyllebert and Kenneth Van Bilsen, Australian rider Scott Law, British rider Mark McNally and Lithuanian Gediminas Bagdonas.
The team has been going very well in recent weeks with Niko Eeckhout’s win at the Schaal Sels (1.1) last Sunday adding to Bennett’s recent good form, not to mention Downey’s 11th place in the U23 Euros TT and his top ten GC ride at the Kreiz Breizh Elites stage race in France four weeks ago.
Bagdonas has been on fire this year, a fact underlined by his fourth place in the latest UCI Europe Tour rankings. He won a great stage in the Tour of Britain last year and will likely be the team’s main GC rider again this year.
Team manager Kurt Bogaerts said the recent performances have given the riders plenty of confidence.
“The team have been racing well recently and the results have been very positive. Sam has been close on a couple of occasions and this has been great for his confidence. I feel we are now beginning to see the best of him.”
“I think a top five result is achievable this Sunday, so that’s what we are aiming for. After the race I will think about picking my Tour of Britain team. All of the Irish guys have a chance of making the squad so it will be a difficult decision.”
Topics
