There has been a change to the Irish team for Tour de l'Avenir, which gets underway this weekend, as Patrick O'Loughlin of Panduit Carrick Wheelers is brought into the line-up as a late replacement.
While O'Loughlin has already represented Ireland on track and road - as a junior and U23 - he is new to this level of racing, though a recent stint of racing in Belgium should stand him in good stead as he now steps up to the next level.
The inclusion of the 19-year-old in the Irish team for the race dubbed the U23 Tour de France unfortunately comes at the expense of Aaron Wade. While he was initially selected, and rode the U23 road race at the Worlds in Glasgow last weekend, illness has now ruled him out of Tour de l'Avenir.
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The Team Ireland line-up is comprised of Archie Ryan, Dean Harvey, Kevin McCambridge, Odhran Doogan, Jamie Meehan and O'Loughlin, whose brother Michael O'Loughlin also competed in Tour de l'Avenir on the national team.
While Darren Rafferty is absent from the selection, Ryan's return is really welcome and gives Team Ireland a strong general classification option as he was 4th overall last year. While he has just one race under his belt so far this season - as he came down with a knee injury late last year - he is back in the nick of time.
He took 4th in his first race of 2023 last weekend, ending Gran Premio Sportivi di Poggiana-Trofeo Bonin Costruzioni, a 164.2km U23 one-day race in northern Italy, in the front group and sprinting to 4th place.
Wade's absence is a real shame as he is a very strong sprinter and could have teamed up well with Odhran Doogan in the gallops that will likely decide some of the early stages of the race.
