Irish cyclist Darragh O’Mahony signs with Italian team
Irish cyclist Darragh O’Mahony has signed for an Italian team for the remainder of the season.
The squad is in the process of moving into the pro ranks and will ride Continental level next year.
O’Mahony of O'Leary Stone Kanturk was due to leave for Italy today, Monday, to join up with his new Gavardo Biesse Carrera Tecmor team.
Down the years the team has built an impressive record of producing riders who make the top flight.
And some of the management personnel were involved in the Carrera pro team Stephen Roche and Marco Pantani rode for.
One of the main sponsors of O’Mahony’s team is Carrera; the company owned by Davide Boifava. He was the manager of the Carrera pro team when it was at its height.
Advertisement
O’Mahony was one of the best juniors in the country and has already become one of the best seniors.
Related News
He has won several races this year, the best of which was the Des Hanlon Memorial.
He’s also won the Newbridge GP, Rás Luimni and a stage of the Tour of Ulster where he was 3rd overall.
He also took 4th and 7th on stages of the An Post Rás, which he rode on the Irish team. And most recently he won the DeRonde Classic.
He has become a regular on the Irish team this year, including for the U23 Nations Cup, and is coached by Ronan McLaughlin at Panache Coaching.
O'Mahony's new team is based in the town of Gavardo on Lake Garda, where Matteo Cigala is from.
The Italian has made Ireland his home in recent years. And riding with the Aqua Blue Academy he is Cycling Ireland’s top ranked rider at present.
He assisted with O’Mahony moving to his new base in Italy and securing a place with the team.
Cigala told stickybottle the team has had approximately 35 riders that moved on to be pro riders.
“I was delighted to be able to help Darragh get the place,” he said.
“It’s a great chance for him to get more international racing. And because they are racing Continental next year, it adds to the opportunity for him.”
We’ll catch up with Darragh O’Mahony in the next day or two.
- This story has been amended to reflect the fact Darragh O'Mahony is coached by Ronan McLaughlin at Panache Coaching. Nobody supplied misleading or incorrect information. The error was made entirely by stickybottle.
Topics
