Two members of the Team GB line-up set to take on the best of Irish in the An Post Rás due to start on Sunday, May 18th; Chris Lawless (left) and Germain Burton.
The livery of mighty Team GB will feature in the field when the An Post Rás gets underway in a little over three weeks time.
British Cycling has yet to finalise the full line-up, with recent crashes among those likely to be picked having delayed the process.
However team manager Keith Lambert has named three riders who are clear of injury and are expected to form the core of the team.
Among that trio is Jon Dibben, who won a stage in last year’s Tryptique Mont & Chateaux (UCI 2.2) race and previously finished fifth in the junior World Road Race Championships.
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Also coming to Ireland is British junior road race champion from last year Chris Lawless and under-23 rider Germain Burton. The latter has already shown some good form internationally this year, taking tenth in the Herald Sun Tour prologue in February.
The rest of the team will be finalised closer to the start of the eight-day Irish showpiece on Sunday, May 18th, with Lambert preferring to wait in the hope that some of the injured riders will have time to recover.
“I can’t name the goals until I know the final make-up of the team,” he said.
“But hopefully we will make an impact one way or another.”
Along with the Britons, also confirmed as riding next month is the Italian squad Team idea.
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It will comprise of Christian Delle Stelle, Mirko Tedeschi, Matteo Collodel, Ricardo Pichetta and Alessandro Pettit, a line-up which team manager Omar Piscina says is its best possible selection.
“They are athletes who have won many races in the U23 category,” he said.
“This season Delle Stelle won two races; the 1.2-ranked GP Izola Butan Plin and the 1.12 Trofeo Balestra. He was also second at the 1.1 GP Nobili.
“As for Collodel; he won the 1.12-ranked Trofeo Fumagalli and finished second in the Trofeo Balestra.
“I think we will be very competitive in the sprints with Delle Stelle and Collodel. As for the general classification, Tedeschi will be our leader.”
In the past Tedeschi has taken top six finishes in the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia and the Trofeo Edil C and will seek to press home his climbing ability in the Rás.
Race director, Tony Campbell said both teams looked very promising.
“As is the case with all the other international teams, we expect that they will play a big part in shaping the final outcome and also in relation to stage wins and the various other classifications.”
The 2014 An Post Rás will begin in Dunboyne and features stage finishes in Roscommon, Lisdoonvarna, Charleville, Cahirciveen, Clonakilty, Carrick on Suir, Baltinglass and Skerries.
It will once again be a 2.2 ranked event on the UCI world calendar, and will feature a large number of international and professional teams.
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