Michael O'Loughlin appeared to catch the eye of Neil Martin at Gent Wevelgem and he, along with Eddie Dunbar and David Montgomery, was very unlucky to get caught behind a major crash as the front of the race was splitting (Photo: Oran Kelly)
By Brian Canty
Cycling Ireland has opted for the same six riders that competed in Gent-Wevelgem two weeks ago to do battle in the Tour of Flanders tomorrow, Saturday.
The U23 Nations Cup event features some of the best talents from around the world, all vying for crucial points that will go towards qualifying teams for the World Championships later this year.
Eddie Dunbar will once again lead the line for Ireland and he’ll be supported by Michael O’Loughlin, Angus Fyffe, Matthew Teggart, David Montgomery and Sean McKenna.
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There are 27 teams of six riders in the 177-kilometre race which was won last year by Australian Alex Edmondson.
Montgomery was best of the Irish on that day, coming home in a group 6:44 down.
David Montgomery was best of the Irish at the U23 Tour of Flanders last year. The An Post Chainreaction man was in a group over six minutes back on a day where crashes took out a number of the men in green. They'll be hoping for better luck tomorrow afternoon in what is an extremely competitive event.
It’s a brutally tough course on which the riders will do battle, with 14 ‘bergs’ to be negotiated.
It’s up and down all day and with a little rain forecast for the afternoon it’s going to be a real war of attrition.
Twelve months ago, Ireland was led by Ryan Mullen but the plan came unstuck when he crashed and was forced to withdraw.
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He was one of four Irish non-finishers on that day when only half the field made it to the finish line.
Some of the big names in the field tomorrow include Dunbar’s Axeon Hagens-Berman teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart (Great Britain) and punchy Australian Michael Storer.
The Irish will also face Norwegian powerhouse Anders Skaarseth, who was 7th last year.
Eddie Dunbar is the key weapon in Team Ireland’s arsenal as it looks towards scoring points to quality for the U23 road race at the World Championships. While the Nations Cup is a key event for scoring such points, the riders can also collect points if they are placed in UCI-ranked races riding for the trade teams (Photo: Oran Kelly)
Also down to start is Danish star Mads Pedersen who won U23 Gent Wevelgem two weeks ago. He has since finised 8th overall at the Three Days of De Danne against World Tour opposition.
Where he was 4th on the opening stage after escaping the field with the likes of 5th placed rider Luke Rowe (Team Sky) and stage winner Alexander Kristoff (Katusha).
Pedersen also won young riders’ classification in the race and will be one to watch tomorrow on such a testing course.
American Logan Owen (another teammate of Dunbar), Belgian Edward Planckaert as well as Phil Bauhaus of Germany and Bora-Argon 18 will also be worth keeping an eye on.
However, there is some real quality in the Irish line that can come to the fore at this level in the next couple of seasons and maybe even before this year is out.
The Irish team will be managed by Kurt Bogaerts as Neil Martin is with the SEG squad at the Circuit Des Ardennes in France.
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