Sam Bennett took a number of great wins last year and now he and the other Irish pros don't have to wait any longer to find out how their form is after the winter.
By Brian Canty
Ireland will be well represented on the Balearic island of Majorca these next number of days with four riders set to take part in some of the one-day events that make up the Challenge Majorca series.
Ryan Mullen (Cannondale), Nicolas Roche (Team Sky), Sam Bennett (Bora Argon 18) and Matt Brammeier (Dimension Data) will all have different objectives for their respective teams over the coming days.
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Brammeier is down to ride on Thursday and Friday for what will be his comeback races; the 1.1-ranked Trofeo Felanitx and Trofeo Pollenca-Port de Andratx.
It will be interesting to see how the four-time Irish national road race champion fares out after such a long injury lay-off but little will be expected from him in terms of a result.
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He will merely be building form for next week’s Dubai Tour (February 3rd-6th) as well as the classics later in the season.
Of the four, Bennett looks the most likely to produce a result after finishing 10th and 4th in the two events he did last year on Majorca; those being Thursday's and Sunday's races.
Bennett was 10th in the Trofeo Santanyi-Ses Salines-Campos last year but there’s a different parcours this time around and it’s one that features a short, sharp fourth category climb up to the finish in Porreres. That race in on tomorrow, Thursday.
The Bora Argon 18 man was beaten in the bunch sprint that decided the Trofeo Palma-Palma (168k) 12 months ago and on the same course with a year’s racing in his legs he could go close again. That race takes place on Sunday.
Also racing Thursday, Friday and Saturday are Mullen and Roche.
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Saturday is the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana which starts in Soller and finishes in Deia after 150 kilometres.
There are six climbs along the way and has been won in the past by Alejandro Valverde and Michal Kwiatkowski.
Meanwhile, it will be a proud day for Limerick man Stephen Clancy next week as he races the biggest event of his career so far.
The 23-year-old is part of the eight-man Novo Nordisk squad for the Dubai Tour (February 3rd-6th).
Ten of the 16 teams are part of the World Tour while the remainder are a mix of Pro Continental and representative teams from around the globe.
Clancy has ridden 2.HC-ranked events is the past, such as the Arctic Race of Norway, Tour of Hainan and Tour of Denmark but this is a step up from that again given the list of riders down to start.
Brammeier will also be in action there and he’ll be hoping to do what he can for close friend and teammate Mark Cavendish who goes in as the defending champion.
Last year, the Isle of Man rider won the first and final stages as well as second on stage two so he’ll be going all out to repeat the feat.
Etixx-QuickStep have a seriously strong line-up that features Tony Martin, Marcel Kittel and Matteo Trentin.
Team Sky make no secret of their intentions with four sprinters in their roster while Trek-Segafredo, Tinkoff and BMC Racing are some of the others on the start-list.
Bradley Wiggins also leads his team into of exclusively British riders. They are one of only three Continental-ranked teams down to start.
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