Darragh O’Mahony has signed a new contract with British Continental team Swift Carbon Pro Cycling for next year and fellow Irishman Mitchell McLaughlin has joined the team.
Both riders saw their efforts
severely impacted by Covid-19 this year, like the rest of the sport, but were able
to take results when it counted.
Having won the U23 road race title in 2019, Cork's O’Mahony went back to the championships this year and proved one of the strongest at the head of the race.
He eventually took the bronze
medal – behind Ben Healy (Trinity Racing) and Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) – in
the Newcastle West CC promotion.
The 22-year-old also scored a number of wins on the home scene, including the Knockaderry Road Race and Rás Ceatharlach.
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O'Mahony started the season strongly in Europe with 18th in Grote prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré (1.1) in Belgium – won by Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) - before the pandemic intervened and confined him to Ireland.
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McLaughlin (22), Donegal, rode this year with British elite team Zappi Racing and while he too missed most of the racing opportunities he was planning for, he still managed to take something from 2020.
At the National Road Championships
he took the bronze medal in the U23 TT - behind Healy and Kevin McCambridge
(Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling).
McLaughlin was unlucky not to take
another nationals medal this year when he made the winning breakaway at the
National Criterium Championships promoted by Galway Bay CC in Tynagh.
Unfortunately he crashed out of
that move, with his breakaway companions - Andy Maguire (Spellman Dublin Port)
and Darnell Moore (Vitus Pro Cycling) - going on to take gold and silver.
Covid-19 allowing next year, Swift Carbon Pro Cycling will ride a schedule of racing that includes major events in Europe, including some events with WorldTour opposition, as well as the British pro scene.
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