Philip Deignan will bring WorldTour glamour to the proceedings at the National Road Race Championships in Omagh on Sunday (Photo: Sirotti)
Just days before the Omagh Wheelers-promoted National Road Championships get underway; Philip Deignan has been confirmed as a starter in the men’s road race.
The Team Sky man will bring WorldTour glamour to the event, not to mention an engine that, on its day, could rip the race apart.
His participation in the combined U23 and senior men’s road race on Sunday has been confirmed this afternoon by the host club.
News he will ride comes just 24 hours after Matt Brammeier (MTN Qhubeka) was also confirmed as a starter.
The four-time road champion and former time trial title holder won the final stage of the ZLM Toer in Holland on Sunday.
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He comes into this weekend’s title race on the crest of a wave and clearly in mint condition.
Deignan, who finished 9th overall in the 2009 Vuelta and also won a stage, has been in fantastic form for the past three seasons.
Riding the World Championships in Spain last September; Deignan is one of Ireland’s best ever riders and his addition to the line-up for the championships this weekend brings more star quality to the race (Photo: Sean Rowe)
This year and last he has been a constant presence on the front of the pro peloton in the hardest races when Team Sky has been exerting its control.
He put in a huge performance at the Giro last year – constantly going on the attack and taking a best result of 3rd on stage 18.
He also rode very strongly for Chris Froome in the Vuelta, when on a number of occasions he drove the select groups and was still among the last men standing on summit finish climbs as the battle for the leader’s jersey got underway.
And this year he has been in similar form, going close to a stage win in the Tour de Yorkshire and finishing 5th overall.
It was his efforts on the climbs that ripped that race apart in May on the opening stage and his riding on the front on subsequent stages, and in recent races such as the Criterium du Dauphine, have been similarly impressive.
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He has never taken a medal at the national championships but was in the early breakaway in Carlingford two years ago when he crashed.
Along with Brammeier and defending champion Ryan Mullen (An Post-Chainreaction) he will go to the line among the hottest of favourites on Sunday.
Deignan goes down as he moves clear in an early breakaway through Carlingford village in Co Louth at the 2013 championships. Eventual silver medal winner Philip Lavery is just behind (Photo: Simon Devlin)
Deignan’s participation at the championships will be welcomed by Irish fans, who gave him an especially warm welcome at the Giro in Ireland just over a year ago.
However, Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18), Nicolas Roche (Team Sky) and Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) have all said they are not riding the championships because they want to rest before the Tour de France starts on July 4th.
And Deignan’s decision to take part in Omagh will be seen by many as an indication he is not riding the Tour.
Team Sky today accidentally published a list of 11 riders on its website presented as its Tour de France team, though there are only nine riders on a Tour team.
Neither Deignan’s nor Roche’s name was on the list.
The British-registered squad has insisted the list was incomplete, adding it was not its Tour team and saying it had been published in error.
The item was taken off the site very quickly. However, it was an embarrassing public relations gaffe which has inevitably resulted in a lot of speculation about who will make its Tour team and who will miss out.
The squad is chasing overall victory in the race; hoping to bring Chris Froome a second Tour title after his defence of his 2013 win ended when he crashed last year.
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