Mark Downey has signed for a new UCI Continental level team based in France involving Irish legend Stephen Roche (Photo: Toby Watson. Homepage photo Eymard Brennan)
By Shane Stokes
A new Celtic squad with a racing centre in Baud, Brittany, and with a strong interest in Irish riders has been announced, and will feature at least one competitor from here next season.
Confirmed today for the Dynamo Cover pro cycling team is Irishman Mark Downey, who is part of the initial six names revealed by the squad.
There will be a dozen riders in the 2016 season, but there is a possibility that a second Irishman could be brought on board.
An additional link to the country is former pro Stephen Roche, who will have a mentorship role with the squad. He will share his experience with the riders and provide tactical guidance.
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Downey is 19 years of age and is a former junior national time trial champion.
He took a superb silver medal in the points race at the 2014 European track championships.
He competed this month in the 2015 Europeans in the senior team pursuit and the points race, riding aggressively in the latter.
The squad will register as a UCI Continental team in 2016. It will be managed by the Breton Yann Dejan, a past manager of Team Geumsan Chrono in Asia.
He will be assisted by former French pro Benoit Salmon, who was the best young rider in the 1999 Tour de France and who has been working with VC La Pomme Marseille, plus Sébastien Duclos. The latter has been running the Attack Gusto Cycling Team in Asia.
Former pros Joel Pelier and Bruno Cornillet will also have an input.
Dynamo Cover is an insurance company based in the UK that focuses on insurance products for cycling. It was founded two years ago by Alex Mills, a former candidate on the BBC show The Apprentice.
Aside from Downey, the other five confirmed today are the French trio Matthieu and Maxime Le Lavandier plus David Chopin, British rider Stuart Balfour and New Zealand’s Nick Kergozou. The team will also include at least one Australian rider.
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The squad hopes to move up through the ranks in the years ahead, with Tour de France participation one of the long-term goals. It also wants to nurture and develop riders.
"Creating youthful champions is the main objective of the team which will build different junior academies, particularly in Ireland and Britain, to provide long-term stability and talent scouting for future rosters,” it said.
“When I had the idea of this team, I really wanted to do a mix based on different cultures of cycling,” said Dejan, the manager.
“It is an international team based in Britain but aims to form their own riders. Rather than seeking large motors to build a big team, I want to bring our youth to the top level.”
“The objective we have is simple,” said Mills.
“We intend to create a brilliant international cycling team with a single focus and purpose; and advance our young champions within our own structure.”
Team spokesman Jean Vantalon said that the team’s Celtic heritage is crucially important, and that it will have an academy in Dublin for junior riders.
“The first year will be Continental in order to improve the riders and help them progress towards Continental Pro.
“The project is initially five years but will be a long term contract, developing into a much bigger team.”
He confirmed that the An Post Rás was a major goal in 2016. It will seek an invite from race organiser Tony Campbell, and also hopes to ride the Tour of Britain.
The race calendar will be mainly French and British, but races in Asia are also of interest.
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