Mark Dowling has been an outstanding performer in recent seasons, winning the Suir Valley Three-Day, AmberGreen Energy Tour of Ulster and the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan. He deservedly gets his chance to represent Ireland this weekend in the Kreiz Breizh Elite race in France.
By Brian Canty
Mark Dowling says he can’t wait to make his Irish debut tomorrow when he lines up as part of the six-man Irish team for the UCI 2.2-ranked Kreiz Breizh Elite race in France.
The DID Dunboyne man has been in superb form recently, winning the Noel Teggart Memorial last weekend by an impressive margin from a top class field.
He arrived in France via Dublin and Southampton yesterday and rode three hours with teammate Sean McKenna, saying he felt positive about the next three days.
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“I’m feeling really good at the moment, I’m on it,” he said in reference to his condition.
“There’s no excuses for me now, the weather is good and the course is hard and this is what I’ve wanted.
“I think it’s going to be a hard race, possibly harder than the Rás.
"But I’m ready for it and we as a team definitely don’t feel inferior to anyone here.
“All the big teams are pulled up outside the hotel and we say ‘bring it on’.
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“My form is good, I’ve been training flat out for the Suir Valley to try and defend that so it didn’t affect my preparation at all that I came here.
“I’ve just been flat out every day, racing the crits and the Sunday races completely fatigued and as usual, I’m in a race against time to freshen up but I should be okay.”
The parcours for the weekend is long and lumpy stages and though not as sharp as Dowling would like, he said it’ll be about staying as fresh as possible and waiting for the right moments.
“I've raced in France before and there are lots of crashes normally so I'll be just hoping to avoid them and get to the finish as fresh as I can.
“I think we've a really strong team capable of winning stages, all of us.
“We've a great manager in Dave (McCann) and he's someone I always looked up to.
"He'll know the score and will have us well prepared for whatever the race throws up.”
The Irish team consists of Dowling, McKenna, Mark Downey, Sean Hahessy, Matt Teggart and Marc Potts.
Connor McConvey is also in the race with his Team 3M squad, as is Dominic Jelfs (Madison Genesis) and Simon Ryan and Daniel Stewart (AC Bisontone).
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