Selected: Aaron Buggle (left) on the attack with Ronan McLaughlin on stage 7 of the 2011 An Post Ras (Photo: Stephen McCarthy – Sportsfile)
Cycling Ireland has named a six-man team of U23 and Elite riders for a UCI 2.2 three-day stage race in France later this month. The race is being used to try to get Irish U23s enough UCI points to qualify an Irish team for the U23 World Championships.
The French assignment will also act as preparation for the U23 European Championships next month.
The selected riders include a quartet of U23s - namely Sam Bennett and Sean Downey (both An Post-Sean Kelly), Aaron Buggle (Apoge Super U) and Jack Wilson (Ucs Crabbé Performance VOO).
These are joined by elite riders Ronan McLaughlin (An Post-Sean Kelly) and Peter Hawkins (IG Sigma Sport).
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The team will ride the UCI 2.2 Kreiz Breizh stage race in France from July 28th to 30th.
One obvious U23 absentee from the selection is Philip Lavery, who took the U23 title and the elite bronze medal at the National Road Race Championships in Clonmel the weekend before last.
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Lavery’s UK-based Continental team NODE4-Giordana is riding the three-day in France, meaning he cannot be named on an Irish team in the event.
UCI rules dictate that a rider on a professional team cannot ride on an international or regional selection in a race if his trade team is riding the same race.
The Irish U23s ride the European Road Race & TT Championships in Holland just a fortnight after the French three-day ends, meaning the outing will offer some valuable preparation for the Euros – where Ireland can field up to seven riders in the road race.
Cycling Ireland is also hoping some of the four U23s picked to ride the French three-day can score vital UCI points and ensure Ireland has a team in the U23 World Road Race Championships in Valkenburg, Holland, in September.
Ireland is currently ranked 26th in the U23 UCI European rankings; with 26 nations guaranteed to qualify a team for the World Championships. However, if Ireland was to fall by just one place or lower, there would be no Irish U23 team at the Worlds.
With the window for scoring points still open until August 15th, it seems likely that at least some of the nations just behind Ireland will score more points. It means Irish U23 riders also need to score more points if Ireland is to even maintain its 26th place, which would secure three starts for Ireland at the Worlds.
It is likely Hawkins and McLaughlin – both of whom have been going very well this season – will ride in support of the four U23s in France in the hunt for those vital UCI points.
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