[banners_ad id=55]
Following news that five Irish riders had signed for Belgian-based Team Rupelcleaning for this year, now comes confirmation that another five Irish women have signed with an established British team.
Jennifer Bates, Aoife O'Brien, Caoimhe O'Brien, Roisin Lally and Emily Kay will all ride in the colours of Torelli-Assure-Scimitar in 2021.
The team is comprised of junior,
U23 and elite riders and will take on a combination of races in Britain,
Ireland and mainland Europe during the year ahead.
While all teams’ plans will be dependent on the Covid-19 pandemic, Torelli-Assure-Scimitar plans to compete in the Belgian National Series Lotto Cycling Cup.
It also plans to take on a number of races in Asia, including the Tour of Thailand and Tour of Malaysia, while is also set to compete across Continental Europe.
Advertisement
The U23 and elite riders will target the Rás na mBan
major international stage race in Ireland and the juniors will compete in
Nations Cup events in Europe while also targeting the British National Junior
Series.
If the Tour Series of events across Britain takes place
later this year, Torelli-Assure-Scimitar will also be in
action in those races.
The Irish riders who will compete for the team in the coming year are a mix of emerging and more experienced riders and while some already rode for the team - as Weston Homes-Torelli-Assure – last season, others are new to the set-up.
Related News
Caoimhe O'Brien, who was 2nd in the junior women’s road race at the nationals last year and took bronze in 2019, moves up to U23 level this year.
She is a really exciting prospect, taking three national junior titles on the track last year and one in the elite category; the team pursuit with Weston Homes-Torelli-Assure.
Jennifer Bates was with O’Brien on that national title-winning team pursuit line-up at the Irish track championships last season and she has also ridden for Ireland in the past; stepping in for Eve McCrystal as pilot for Katie George Dunlevy.
Aoife O'Brien is another very interesting prospect for Ireland and has already cleaned up at youth level, including winning the U16 Irish road race crown out front solo last year.
Having ridden for Lakeside Wheelers Mullingar CC last year, she will ride as a first year junior with Torelli-Assure-Scimitar this season; the team confirming she will lead its line-up at the Nations Cup races in Europe and the British national series.
O'Brien, then aged 15 and a first-year U16 cyclist, won the Mullingar GP in 2019, which is part of Cycling Ireland's national road series for elite women.
Roisin Lally is another of the riders who raced with the team in 2020 and she is back for more in 2021, when she will be a second year junior. Lally has already represented Ireland in cyclocross in the Worlds and at the Europeans.
Emily Kay (25) is the oldest of the riders and is a former Team GB rider who made her debut for Ireland, in the team pursuit at the UCI World Cup, just over 12 months ago, when she also won bronze in the omnium.
She won gold at the junior Worlds in 2013 with the
British team pursuit squad, which broke the senior world record at the time in
qualifying and again in the final.
Kay has since won gold in World Cups, in the team pursuit and omnium, as well as four medals at the elite Europeans – one bronze and three silvers – along with a bronze in the Commonwealth Games.
Topics
