Always a hard fought contest, the return of the American teams to the Junior Tour promises to spice it up this week (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
By Brian Canty
Fresh from the disappointment of the European Championships in Switzerland at the weekend, Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar will get a chance to atone for that when the Junior Tour of Ireland starts tomorrow evening, Tuesday, in Co Clare.
The O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk rider, who only arrived back in the country this afternoon, will spearhead the four-man Irish team of Daire Feeley, Michael O’Loughlin and Stephen Shanahan - the same riders he had around him at the weekend.
It’s a formidable line-up and the quartet occupy first, second, fourth and sixth on Cycling Ireland’s junior rankings at present.
Dunbar is the reigning champion and is in mean form at the minute.
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He did not get a chance to fully express himself in the Euros at the weekend but rest assured he’ll be right at the pointy end of things for this six-day event.
Last year he had a strong team in Dylan Foley, Thomas Fallon and Matt Doyle; though the latter would abandon injured.
Dunbar and won by two and a half minutes but he won’t have it as easy this time as there’s a better start-list; four American teams attest to that.
Making the trip from the US is the Hot Tubes team who missed last year’s event due to a clash with the US Nationals. They have won the event no fewer than four times so it will be interesting to see how they handle the Co Clare roads.
If the winds pick up, the field will be battered by gusts from the sea that will shred the peloton to pieces (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
Also making the trip is Team Williams Racing Academy. Owned by Christian Williams, a director for Garmin – Sharp Development; the team is used as a feeder team for Garmin Sharp.
Team Novo Nordisk also make their return to Ireland. Drogheda native Darragh Campbell competed for them in last year’s event and recently collected his first win for the squad in the States.
SKLZ Swamis from San Diego also bring four riders to Ireland for the first time.
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The action starts tomorrow evening with a 6.2 kilometre time trial and it will be a very keenly contested affair.
Michael O’Loughlin has a great chance of taking the first yellow jersey of the race but he will face unbelievable competition from home and abroad.
Obviously Dunbar will not be too far away; he is the National Junior TT Champion after all.
His club mate Dylan O’Brien (Cycling Munster) is one of the few riders in the country capable of beating Dunbar against the clock and was very unfortunate to be ruled out of the Europeans due to illness.
The Co Clare countryside provides a spectacular backdrop for Ireland's junior showpiece event with plenty of bumps along the way to test even the best (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
O’Brien may take the jersey tomorrow, thought last year’s opening time trial stage winner Mark Downey (Standard Life NRPT) does not ride this year.
Interestingly, no time trial bikes or aerodynamic equipment will be permitted. The race, which concludes on Sunday, has five road stages after tomorrow’s opener.
Three of the stages will start and finish in Ennis with the remaining three finishing in Ennistymon, Whitegate and once again the summit finish of Gallows Hill next Saturday.
The race will feature three category one climbs, one more than last year; Corkscrew Hill on stage 3, Castle Hill the same day and Gallows Hill on the penultimate day.
There are six category 2 climbs, two more than last year; Fanore on stage 2, a trio on stage 4 at Scarriff, Maghera and Kilnabarnan while there will be two more the following day at Sallybank and the Windy Gap.
The event will once again be headquartered in Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis, Co Clare. The field will cover 523 kilometres over some of the hardest climbs most scenic roads the country has to offer.
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