Danny Bruton is a very exciting prospect and with plans to divide his time between Ireland and France next year, he looks set for further progress. Similarly, his team mate David McCarthy also looks set for a strong 2014 with racing in France (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
Among a crop of Irish riders about to graduate from the junior ranks into the U23 peloton, David McCarthy and Danny Bruton will benefit from international racing next year thanks to a new plan put in place by the Nicolas Roche Performance Team.
The duo will be the first riders to benefit from a link up between the Standard Life-backed Irish squad and French team AC Bisontine.
The new arrangement will see the NRPT-Standard Life riders travel to France during the 2014 season to ride for AC Bisontine.
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The team will be familiar to stickybottle readers following our many reports on U23 international Philip Lavery this season. The Dubliner took a place with the squad back in February and went on to win a string of big French races with them.
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He was rewarded with a trial with French pro team Cofidis and after a strong showing with them is now putting his plans in place for next year.
If the plan works well between NRPT-Standard Life and AC Bisontine and the Irish riders benefit from it as expected, the arrangement will stay in place over the long term.
The new set-up is ideal for riders like Bruton and McCarthy and those who will follow. It allows them remain based in Ireland for the early portion of the year and then travel to France as the summer months approach and base themselves there.
In the past, riders hoping to progress quickly have often based themselves abroad for the full season in their first year as U23s, only to find relocating to a more intense racing environment and making the category change all in the same year was too much to handle.
Stickybottle understands Bruton and McCarthy will remain at home until around May and then travel to France. The news means they will both stay with NRPT-Standard Life next year while racing at home.
The squad has just completed its first season with a roster made up exclusively of junior riders. However, provision is now being made by team principal Philip Finnegan to retain some of those who will be U23s next year; a welcome development for McCarthy and Bruton.
We’ll get reaction from the two riders in the next day or two.
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