The Irish team at the Beaumont Trophy in the UK last week; not another opportunity has emerged for Irish riders too gain national selection on what looks like the trip of the year (Photo with thanks to Martin O'Loughlin)
Having enjoyed a couple of new opportunities to ride on Irish national teams abroad already this year, the top elite male domestic riders will have another chance to pull on the green jersey at the end of the season.
Former Rás winner Brian Connaughton has secured an invite for an Irish team to ride the Tour de Hokkaido in September.
The Japanese race is a four-stage event starting on September 1st and taking in plenty of climbing.
So those looking to be selected will need to keep their form going right to the end of the season and also find their climbing legs.
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The team is also being sponsored by the Spin11.com custom clothing company, owned by the Connaughton and Cassidy families, which supplies clothing to the Irish team, sportives and clubs throughout the country.
The trip to Japan is a very timely revival by Connaughton of cycling relationships from previous years, when a national team was always invited to the race.
“When they started the race, Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche were at the height of their fame,” said Connaughton.
“And the organisers saw that and they asked the Irish embassy in Japan to get involved and it sponsored the climbers’ classification every year.
“So after a few years, because Ireland had been a sponsor, they decided they wanted an Irish team in the race.
"We went out and I managed the team. We had Gerry Beggs as mechanic and Donal O’Connell was the masseur.”
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September's race in Japan will be a great opportunity for the Irish team to test themselves against a really strong international field.
On the 1991 team were Stephen Spratt, Kevin Kimmage, Julian Dalby and David Hourigan; Spratt winning a stage and Kimmage the hot spots classification.
“We were the first European team to go out there and looking back on it now I seem to recall we got a real eye opener in terms of the standard of racing out there,” said Connaughton.
A Japanese journalist befriended the team and ensured an invite for further national line-ups to travel out to the event.
On the second trip, Olympian and double Rás winner Spratt won the race outright and fellow Irishman David McCann won overall in 2001, though riding for his Ceresit–CCC–Mat trade team rather than on a national team.
While the relationship between the Irish set-up and the Japanese organisers petered out over time, it has been rekindled on the 30th anniversary of the race, with the Irish team once again invited.
Connaughton said there was “plenty of climbing” in this year’s event and that the selection process would be set out shortly.
Cycling Ireland president Ciaran McKenna is working with the Meath man to put together what will be known as the Spin11.com Irish National Team.
The event begins with a 1km TT on Thursday, September 1st, in Sapporo City with a 111km road stage from there to Kutchan Town in the afternoon.
The following day the stage starts and finishes in Kutchan Town, with 180km to be negotiated.
The race concludes on Saturday, September 3rd, with a huge 219km return leg from Kutchan Town to Sapporo City.
We'll bring you more news when we have it, but it sounds like the trip of the year for Irish riders based at home or away who gain selection.
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