Michael O'Loughlin up the road at the Tour de l'Avenir; he is part of the Irish U23 team about to go into battle again. The Team Wiggins man will look to make more progress this year.
Irish team for ZLM Tour U23 Nations Cup
An Irish U23 men’s selection has been named for the ZLM Tour in Holland on Saturday; the latest round of the Nations Cup.
The team is a strong one, with riders based at home and abroad selected. And while the line-ups for the recent Gent-Wevelgem and Tour of Flanders races were broadly the same, other riders now get their chance.
From the home scene, Darnell Moore and Dillon Corkery get deserved call-ups. Both have been riding well in recent weeks and have won races already this season.
Moore, of Caldwell Cycles Omagh, won the National Hill Climb Championships last year. And before the 2018 road season got underway he claimed the elite men’s and U23 titles at the National Cyclocross Championships.
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He has won the Tour of Ards already this season, finished 2nd in the Boyne GP and been 3rd in the McCann Cup.
Moore was also one of the main protagonists of the Tour of the North; taking 3rd and two 4ths on stages and running out 3rd overall. He is currently top of the A1 Cycling Ireland rankings.
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Top, Heaney (second in line) racing in Belgium this year. Corkery winning solo and Moore victorious in the sprint in recent weeks (Photos by Martine Verfaillie, John Coleman, Toby Watson)
Corkery, of Team Gerard-DHL, is a first-year U23 rider. But he has made a seamless transition from the junior ranks this year.
He won Rás Naomh Finian and Rás Luimni at the start of the season. He was selected to ride on the Ireland Development team at Rás Mumhan and took 7th and 8th on stages.
Experienced international rider Michael O’Loughlin is also in the team for Holland. He is riding for Team Wiggins again this season.
He has been training abroad of late and it will be very interesting to see his progress this year. The Carrick-on-Suir man is Irish U23 road and TT champion.
Jake Gray has been riding strongly for VC Toucy of late. He rode the Tour of Flanders on the Irish team last weekend. That should prove great preparation for the challenge to come.
Marc Heaney also gets his chance in the Irish jersey for Holland. Having started out at home with Carn Wheelers he has been riding in Belgium against pro riders of late.
Competing with the Belgian Asfra Racing Team this year, he will relish the chance to test himself against other U23 national teams.
Ryan Reilly is riding with French team Nogent-sur-Oise this year and he is also picked for the ZLM Tour. Reilly is now a very seasoned international rider.
He was on the Ireland team that rode the Tour de l’Avenir last year; a line-up that also included O’Loughlin. And he will look to use the lessons learned there to good effect in Holland.
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