Mark Dowling will ride on a UCI Continental level team in the international peloton in 2016; finally getting the chance he has deserved for many years (Photo with thanks to VeloPaper)
By Shane Stokes
He said after taking third in the recent Taiwan KOM Challenge that he was determined to get an international deal for 2016, and now Mark Dowling has done just that.
The 29 year old climber has been confirmed as joining the new Dynamo Cover team and will compete there in 2016.
The news was made official today by the manager Yann Dejan, who explained the thinking behind bringing him on board.
“It is within our objectives to have riders who know the job and who can guide our young riders,” he said.
“Mark Dowling is a true pure climber. We recruited him to pass a milestone in his career. He is already experienced and he will make use of this knowledge.
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“In addition, he already knows well several races on our calendar. And he already raced in Brittany several years ago.”
Dowling joins three Irish riders who have already been confirmed for the team.
These are the brothers Sean and Mark Downey and Philip Lavery. Sticky Bottle understands a fifth Irishman will be confirmed this weekend.
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The squad was originally due to have one or perhaps two Irish riders, but this changed when the decision was made to register as an Irish squad in 2016.
The team will thus be one of two UCI Continental teams, joining An Post Chainreaction on the international circuit and providing a strong platform for Irish riders.
Dowling is the son of former Irish Olympic boxer Mick Dowling.
A versatile and talented rider, he has won both the Irish critierum and hill climb championships, and recently spoke about his ambition to stickybottle.
“This result gives me a dangerous amount of motivation for the year ahead,” he said, talking after his third place in the Taiwan KOM Challenge.
“I’ve had solid conversations with some proper teams and they seem interested. But it’s about finding the right team and the right race programme.
“I’m confident that if I just keep dogging it out I’ll make it, somewhere.
“I’ve always believed I’ll get there in cycling and that’s what I thought about when I changed from triathlon.”
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