Downey tries to get up the road in last month’s Beverbeek Classic
Ireland’s Sean Downey is again the only Irish rider in the An Post-Sean Kelly line-up for the latest of the team’s early season encounters, the Dwars door Vlaanderen 1.1 Belgian semi classic tomorrow, Wednesday.
Downey will have his work cut out for him in his efforts to survive the 200km event, which takes in a string of stinging cobbled climbs, with a field featuring the very biggest names in the sport including world champion Mark Cavendish (Team Sky).
Matt Brammeier is also riding and will be hoping his Omega Pharma-Quickstep team can add to its impressive early season winning run.
The race is flat for the first 80kms after the start in Roeselare, with the first real test coming at the 87km mark when the field takes in the Nieuw Kwaremont.
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The riders get little respite before the Kattenberg climb, which is followed by two tough flat cobbled sections before the next climb of the Leberg.
Then at the 140km mark the race enters the business end of the day when the Eikneberg is crested, followed by a nasty 40km run featuring six climbs before the Paterberg at the 179km point.
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This is followed by another flat section of cobbles and three more climbs, the last of which is the Nokereberg with its summit just 7kms from the finish in Waregem.
Downey told stickybottle last week he had settled very well into the team in his first months racing with them and he felt his finishing in the front group in the Handzame 1.1 last week in Belgium was an indication he was improving.
The An Post-Sean Kelly team will take to the start line tomorrow alongside all the biggest teams in the world including Team Sky, Green Edge, Rabobank, Katusha, Garmin-Barracuda and a host of others.
Ireland’s Sam Bennett and Connor McConvey are still trying to shake off a bad flu that has dogged them in recent weeks.
Downey won’t be the only Irish rider in the race, with national road race and TT champion Matt Brammeier down to ride with his Omega Pharma-Quickstep team. They have enjoyed an amazing early season and despite the absence of Tom Boonen from their line up tomorrow, they will fancy themselves for another win.
Brammeier has repeatedly said his big early season goal is to peak for the Belgian spring classics, meaning tomorrow will be a good test.
The An Post Sean Kelly line-up for tomorrow’s race is:
- Sean Downey
- Niko Eeckhout
- Pieter Gyllebert
- Joren Segers
- Roy Jans
- Gediminas Bagdonas
- Kenneth VanBilsen
- Niels Wytinck
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