Mark Dowling will trade his DID Electrical Dunboyne kit for the Irish colours over the August Bank Holiday when he rides the three-day Kreiz Breizh 2.2-ranked Elite race in France.
By Brian Canty
Mark Dowling has received his long-awaited Irish call-up and will debut for the national team at the Kreiz Breizh elite race in France over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The DID Electrical Dunboyne man has been rewarded for some stunning performances over the last number of years with a place on the six-man Irish team for the three-day UCI 2.2-ranked race.
The full team is yet to be finalised but Dowling will definitely be travelling and on paper, the hilly parcours looks perfect for a man of his characteristics.
The opening stage is a 184-kilometre run from Calanhel to Plouay with four categorised climbs.
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Stage two is the shortest at 82 kilometres but there are two big climbs.
The penultimate stage is a 110-kilometre journey starting and finishing in Carhax with two more climbs.
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The final day is the hardest and takes the riders 163 kilometres from Plouguernevel to Rostrenen with climbing throughout.
The riders finish that stage with seven laps of a 9.5 kilometre course which is up and down and should suit an explosive rider like Dowling.
The team will be managed by former Irish international and ex-professional David McCann.
Some of the other teams in the race include LottoNL-Jumbo, the Rabobank development team, Team 3M, An Post Chain Reaction, a Brittany U23 selection, the Scottish national team and the Russian U23s.
It means Dowling will not be on the start-line to defend his Suir Valley Three-Day title and with Damien Shaw out injured and Bryan McCrystal not doing it, it looks like a very open race.
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