‘An Post’ Irish trio and Mayo’s Paddy Clarke in Belgian action, but Bennett still out

Sean Downey is just one Irish rider in action in Belgium on Sunday

An Post-Sean Kelly’s Irish riders Ronan McLaughlin, Sean Downey and Connor McConvey are gearing up for some tough racing in Belgium in coming days, though Sam Bennett remains sidelined and Mark Cassidy is not racing this weekend.

Downey and McLaughlin are part of a six-man team that lines out in the Kattekoers Deinze-Ieper (1.2) in Flanders on Sunday. The 178km race features a number of climbs and is also part of the Top Competitie series which means it will be very hard fought.

Both riders are good climbers and will need to have their wits about them to survive what promises to be a difficult assignment in Deinze.

Also on Sunday, Connor McConvey lines out in Omloop van het Waasland as part of an eight-man An Post team. The race is mainly flat but has plenty of cobbled sections so it should be tricky as the riders weave their way through the Waasland region.

The team’s sprinter Niko Eeckhout is a three-time winner of this race and after his win midweek he’ll be in the hunt again on Sunday.

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Sam Bennett has still not recovered from a virus and does not ride this weekend, while Meath man Mark Cassidy is not down to ride at the weekend.

Mayo’s Paddy Clarke lines out in the Omloop van het Waasland alongside the An Posts on Sunday. He has been in Belgium for the past two years and rides for Belgian top competition team ‘Terra Footwear - Bicycle Line’.

He had a good ride on a number of An Post Ras stages last year and will be looking to step that up this year.

An Post-Sean Kelly manager Kurt Bogaerts said he was hoping for podium places in both races the two selections were riding on Sunday. He said the riders were in very good spirits following the 1-2 at the Pro Wanzele criterium midweek by Eeckhout and Gediminas Bagdonas.

“It was a great win for us in the Pro Wanzele. The whole team performed very well in tough conditions and this pleased me the most.”

“Both races this weekend will be tough. Kattekoers has some difficult climbs and Omloop van het Waasland is generally flat but has plenty of cobbles…. but we will be looking for a podium finish in each race.”