An Irish U23 with very strong stage and general classification prospects has been selected for Tour de l'Avenir, which gets underway in the Vendée region of France next Thursday, August 18th.
The six riders selected are: Darren Rafferty (19), Archie Ryan (20), Dean Harvey (19), Kevin McCambridge (20), Adam Ward (21) and Liam Curley (22).
Martyn Irvine, the former track work champion who now leads Ireland’s U23 road programme, said he was very much looking forward to seeing how the team performs. In top climber Ryan - who competes for Jumbo Visma Development - Irvine believes Ireland has a rider who can perform in the big mountains and, therefore, the general classification.
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“I have worked with them all year and I know their skillsets," said Irvine. "(Tour de) l’Avenir is a long race and we can pick and choose days. It is a strong enough team that they will all have chances to show off their abilities.
“Personally I would like to put some protection around Archie in the early days, to keep a team around him because his skillset will come to the fore at the end of the week.
"I think that would be a good idea to make sure we get him to the hard stuff in good condition. And then we will let the other riders take their chances in breaks. We will play it day by day.”
More to come.
