Archie Ryan (Jumbo Visma Development) is to make a return to racing, after missing the season to date due to a knee injury, and will be part of the Irish team for Tour de l'Avenir. Ryan's return is great news for the national team as he was 4th in the event last year.
Furthermore, his return to racing means he will get a block of competition into his legs before he steps up to World Tour level with EF Education-EasyPost next year. His inclusion in the Team Ireland line-up for Tour de l'Avenir is also timely as Darren Rafferty is not in the Irish team for the race which was announced late on Saturday night.
However, though Rafferty will not ride the event, Cycling Ireland has announced a very strong selection for the race, which is known as the U23 Tour de France.
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The Team Ireland line-up is comprised of Ryan along with Dean Harvey, Kevin McCambridge, Odhran Doogan, Aaron Wade and Jamie Meehan. That means four riders on the team are the same as those selected for the U23 road race at the Worlds next weekend. For the Tour de l'Avenir, Rafferty is out and Ryan is in, with McCambridge also added.
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Former world track champion, and ex ProConti rider, Martyn Irvine also returns as manager of the team and said he was delighted with the selection of riders available to him.
"It's a shame Darren Rafferty wasn't available for selection but we look forward to welcoming Archie Ryan back from a long term injury," Irvine said. "Last year Archie had a hugely successful race finishing 4th overall and we're looking forward to having him on the team once again.
"We have a strong team in France with four of those representing Ireland also competing at the upcoming U23 men's road race at the UCI Cycling World Championships."
Rafferty has a full schedule of racing with his trade team after the Worlds and has also raced a packed schedule already this year. Given his remaining events to come this season, and his plan to start racing with new team EF Education-EasyPost next January, he has understandably decided to forego an appearance at Tour de l'Avenir.
