Dillon Corkery is to ride for the remainder of the season with UCI Continental team EvoPro Racing. The 22-year-old, a former Irish elite criterium champion, starts his stint with the team immediately.
EvoPro Racing - established by well-known Irish cycling figures Morgan Fox and PJ Nolan - has been forced to deal with the uncertainty of the pandemic this year and last season, just as the team was building momentum.
However, having been among those teams in pro cycling hit hard by race cancellations, it has been in a position to carry on and now Corkery is one of three stagiaires it has signed for the remainder of the season.
French rider Thomas Acosta (23) has also signed for the team as has Belgian 23-year-old Stijn Siemons. Corkery, who has been racing in France this year with Restauration-Louault 89 has just completed the Kreiz Breizh Elites (2.2) stage race in France, where he put on a solid showing with the Irish U23 team.
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The Corkman said he was delighted to get the chance to step up to UCI Continental level, especially as he was doing so with an Irish team.
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"I think for me EvoPro was the right decision because, first off, it’s almost going to feel like I’m at home being with the Irish boys again," he said.
"Don’t get me wrong, the French are great people but hearing an Irish accent this weekend in Kreiz Breizh Elites was a nice feeling for sure.
"I raced against Morgan’s boys at home and I know how he runs a team and I always had a job competing with his riders. So I know I’ll be in good hands for these UCI races coming up."
Fox, a former Irish road race champion who raced as a pro, said he believed Corkery was ready for the step up in racing, which he hoped would prove to be a good opportunity for him.
"We’ve been watching Dillon since he beat Damien Shaw to win the Irish criterium champs at just 18 years old," Fox said. "We knew he needed some time to mature and through his connection with Timmy Barry we feel now is the right time for him to step up and really test himself.
"He has a really good character and work ethic and will fit right in at EvoPro. He is also at the perfect age to get picked up by one of the bigger teams and we hope this opportunity puts him in that shop window."
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