Sean Downey (left) will hope to show his form on the hillier stages of the Tour of Britain while Sam Bennett will look to the sprint finishes for results.
Irish riders Sean Downey and Sam Bennett have been named on the An Post-Chainreaction team for the Tour of Britain starting on Sunday, but there is no place in the squad for Ronan McLaughlin.
The Donegal man rode a great race in last year’s event and made several escapes. He then went on to make the Irish team for the World Championships after a string of very good rides in the latter part of the season.
However, while he was hopeful of being in the mix for selection for the Irish team at the Worlds again this year, the Tour of Britain was very much in his plans to make his case so his omission from the team will be disappointing for him.
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British rider Mark McNally, Kiwi riders Aaron Gate and Shane Archbold and Belgian Nicholas Vereecken make up the remainder of the six man team for the 2.1 ranked eight-day which starts in Peebles, Scotland.
A gruelling eight days and nine stages awaits the riders with the race including a 16 kilometre individual time trial on stage three and an 88 kilometre final stage into London city.
Bennett has had a series of very strong rides of late, taking a number of podium places including victory in pro kermesse in Kortemark, Belgium, while finishing fourth at the UCI ranked 1.1 Schaal Sels.
He is one of three riders in the running for the final berth on the four-man Irish team for the World Championships next month. Already selected are Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff), Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) and Philip Deignan (Unitedhealthcare).
Martin and Deignan are also in the field for the Tour of Britain as are Irish riders Dominic Jelfs (Madison Genesis) and Peter Hawkins (IG Sigma Sport).
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While An Post’s Bennett will be looking to score in the sprint finishes, Downey has also gone very well this year and will be more suited to the lumpier stages in the British showpiece.
He will be looking to get up the road on some of those harder stages and then trying to drive home any advantage he may find himself with.
The Irish duo will be up against a very strong field that also includes the likes of Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Team Sky.
An Post-Chainreaction manager, Kurt Bogaerts believes consistency is the key to Bennett’s run of good form.
“With Sam, we know his ability and we know his potential so it’s just a case of ensuring he is more consistent in his performances and he has done that this season. He has been delivering really solid results in the past few weeks so let’s hope it continues.”
“It’s always a big challenge going up against the likes of Cavendish and Wiggins but Sam is capable of giving these guys trouble so I’m excited for Sunday to come around.”
Bogaerts feels his team’s aggressive style is vital to potentially securing a stage victory.
“We like to ride aggressively and we showed last year that we are not just there to make up numbers. Our riders are in great form; Sean Downey is in good shape and has been climbing really well, so he will be key to how we perform.”
“As always, we will try to ensure we are in the breakaways and challenging for any points on offer and with a bit of luck we may be able to get a stage victory - that will be our goal”.
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