Cycling Ireland ‘Talent Team 2020’ secures further sponsorship deal

The ‘Talent Team 2020’ training in Co Wicklow in December

Just one week after FBD Insurance announced it was getting back into sponsoring cycling via the new ‘Talent Team 2020’ youth squad, Neenan Travel and its tour operations division www.breakaway.ie has also committed its financial support to the team.

The company’s backing of Cycling Ireland’s youth squad continues a long involvement in the sport by owner Alan Neenan, who is himself a racing cyclist.

Neenan Travel has organised trips for cycling fans to the world road race and track championships for over a decade (http://www.neenantrav.ie/cycling/). It also sponsors the competition for ‘Track Cycling Team of the Year’ and handles Cycling Ireland’s travel arrangements for foreign racing trips.

Under the new deal, Neenan Travel will sponsor the girls ‘Talent Team 2020’ panel, while FBD is backing the boys’ squad.

Neenan said he was delighted with his new association with the panel, adding he was encouraged Cycling Ireland had selected girls from road, track and MTB backgrounds rather than sticking with just one side of the sport.

“Each of the young riders chosen on the squad has shown promise at their respective disciplines and the coaches are now looking, not only to develop that talent, but also to introduce the riders to the other disciplines thus broadening their experience and the subsequent talent base,” he said.

He believed this represented forward thinking on the part of Cycling Ireland and gave the girls the best chance possible of succeeding in the sport long term.

The ‘Talent Team 2020’ process is seeking to mirror development programmes in nations like Great Britain and Australia, where talent has been identified at a very early age and is now yielding spectacular results at junior, U23 and elite levels.

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Cycling Ireland has said ‘Talent Team 2020’ has been established to smooth the transition “of our brightest prospects from the youth to junior ranks, where they will then hopefully join the junior development programme” already in existence.

The second goal is to identify “Ireland’s most talented cyclists (now aged between 13 and 16 years) and offer them specialist support to achieve their potential along a high performance development pathway”.

The eldest of the riders selected for ‘Talent Team 2020’ will be 25-year-olds when the Olympics are held in 2020. The youngest of the riders will be 21-year-olds in that Olympic year.

The girls’ panel is led by Cycling Ireland head of development coaching Paddy Doran and World Track Masters Champion Orla Hendron. Both are aided by a number of other coaches with a long association with women’s cycling in Ireland.

Some of the girls’ squad will be presented in their new team kit at the Ras na N’Og races this weekend. The squad currently numbers 20 riders and has already had three training sessions over the winter. Last month four of the riders competed in the Youth Tour of Scotland and this weekend there will be a four-rider team in Ras na N’Og. While the team is entitled -as U14 girls - to ride the U12 event, they have decided to take the option of riding against U14 boys.