He won the Junior Tour, leading from start to finish, last year. And now Ben Walsh has jumped from the junior ranks straight into a UCI Continental level team in his first year as an U23 rider. He joins the growing number of Irish riders on the UK pro scene (Photos by Stephen McMahon of Sportsfile, homepage photo by John Coleman)
Ben Walsh signs for UCI Continental team for 2018
A top Irish junior rider last year, 18-year-old Ben Walsh will race for Vitus Pro Cycling this year.
The move sees him jump into the UCI Continental ranks in his first season in the U23 ranks.
Walsh won the Junior Tour of Ireland last year. He took the opening TT stage and held the race lead all the way on the national team.
He also took a series of other victories, including the Irish TT title for the second consecutive year.
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Walsh was a permanent feature on the Irish junior team in 2017. The highlights included lining out for Ireland at the World Championships and Europeans.
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He also rode on the national squad in the Junior Nations Cup. He took 15th overall in Trofeo Karlsberg in Germany.
He took 7th in the TT stage at Trophée Centre Morbihan, a Nations Cup race in France. And that result helped him to 8th overall.
Walsh would also gain valuable experience in the junior Gent Wevelgem; surviving on the day for 48th.
Vitus Pro Cycling features some of the personnel from the old GAC Raleigh team that raced in the UK in recent years.
As well as Ben Walsh, riders on the new team include Josh Hunt, Adam Kenway, Julio Alberto Amores, Leon Gledhill, Andy Shackel, Harrison Jones, Grant Martin, Liam Davies, Joe Reilly, Tim Torrie and Deins Kanepejs.
We'll catch up for Walsh a little later to talk about the season ahead.
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