Nicolas Roche Performance Team-Standard Life is expanding after a successful first season and is looking for new riders and sponsors as its management structure is strengthened and it looks to more foreign racing next year (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie )
After a very successful maiden season in 2013, the Nicolas Roche Performance Team is now seeking more riders for next year and is inviting applicants from interested juniors.
The development comes as the management line-up at the growing organisation has been beefed up.
Cycling agent Andrew McQuaid has come on board as has businessman Dermot Rutherford.
The team was established last year by Philip Finnegan and Roche with the intention of identifying emerging U16 and junior riders to put together a team of first and second year juniors for 2013.
“The emphasis right now is on getting some more riders and giving opportunities to some more sponsors to come on board,” said Finnegan.
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“The team was set up with junior riders only, but it looks like a couple of the lads who will be U23 next year are going to stay with us, and a couple of others will go elsewhere. So again we want to attract good juniors who want to learn and we want to give them a good opportunity to develop with us.”
Both Roche and Finnegan said from the outset that while they wanted the riders to secure top results for themselves and the squad, the project’s emphasis was on instilling in them a professional outlook and the importance of team work.
Finnegan told stickybottle he is very happy with how things have gone so far.
“We’d over 25 wins and lots of other strong placings and those results were spread out among the riders so I was equally happy with that,” he said.
One of the highlights was the two stage wins secured at the Junior Tour of Ireland – one with Mark Downey and the other with an Australian guest rider. Fintan Ryan won the national junior road title later in the season and NRPT Standard Life won the team prize.
Mark Downey and Dylan Foley represented Ireland at World Road Race Championships in Florence and World Track Championships in Glasgow. Danny Bruton overcame a broken arm to represent Ireland at the European Road Race Championships in the Czech Republic.
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“We’ve secured sponsorship again from our main sponsor Standard Life for next year so we’re delighted with that,” Finnegan said looking ahead to 2014.
“And we’re in negotiations with other sponsors and equipment suppliers. All of our riders and team support staff have given 100 per cent effort and we owe a lot to our sponsors too; they’ve been fantastic in their support.”
As well as title sponsor Standard Life, the team is also backed by www.radii.ie , Velotec, Centra, Trinity Sports Management, Turas, Skoda, Adidas Eyewear, B-Spoke, High 5 and BBB.
Finnegan added he had been working with Padraic Quinn, a Galway businessman who owns the Velotec company and is part of the NRPT management, to secure invites for more races abroad in 2014.
“So far we’ve confirmed three stage races in France, one stage race in Belgium and at least one race in Holland. And we’ll look to compete in the Junior Race Series in UK following up on some good contacts made in this year.”
On the home scene, the major one day races will be a big target as well as the Junior Tour, National Championships and stage races like the Gorey Three Day.
The squad is also trying to establish formal links with a French club to build a relationship into the future that would benefit the riders.
Finnegan is hopeful McQuaid’s involvement will now assist with the general development of the operation.
Dermot Rutherford has worked with Finnegan and Roche on the Nicolas Roche Classic sportive for the past two years and will take on a logistics role with NRPT next year.
Ken Farrar, formerly of Garmin Sharp, will again be the team’s lead mechanic next year. He will be joined by John Flynn as head physio.
Flynn is based in Cork and was head physio for League of Ireland set-up Cork City FC and Republic of Ireland U-17 soccer team this year. Finnegan said he was hopeful a Leinster-based physio will come on broad in coming weeks.
Any junior riders or sponsors looking to get involved with the team next year are invited to contact Finnegan on [email protected] or [email protected] or by phone on 086 0451318.
Applications from riders are being sought over the next fortnight, with the line-up to be finalised by November 21st.
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