Odhrán Doogan, who took a series of breakthrough results in 2022, is set to race in France this year after joining an elite team there. The 19-year-old from Co Donegal, who is moving into his second season as an U23 rider, took a stage of Kerry Group Rás Mumhan at the start of last season.
However, it was when he stepped up a level, at Rás Tailteann, that his potential became more obvious; the teenager taking 2nd place on stage 4, behind national road race champion Rory Townsend, and also placing 5th on the opening stage.
Doogan, who turned 19-years-old last September, will ride for CC Villeneuve Saint-Germain this year. It is a top elite team based in Villeneuve-Saint-Germain in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, northern France.
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Securing a place on the team means Doogan will be exposed to a full season of elite racing in France, including the French Cup.
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He was selected onto the Irish U23 team last year for Kreiz Breizh Elites (2.2) in France, Flèche du Sud (2.2) in Luxembourg and the European Road Championships in Portugal, as well as riding for Ireland on the track as a junior. He is likely to feature on the national team again in the year ahead, when the U23s will be targeting Tour de l'Avenir once more.
Doogan was one of a group of U23 riders who completed a two-week training camp with Cycling Ireland in Calpe, Spain, just before Christmas and he will soon attend a training camp in France with his new team.
The 19-year-old started his cycling as a youth rider with Donegal-based Errigal CC before moving on to Powerhouse Sport as a junior rider. More recently, he rode for the Caldwell Cycles senior team in Ireland in 2022.
