A 16-year old Shauna McFadden from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, celebrates after winning the McCann Cup in March last year. She would go on to have a great season on the road and even rode the An Post Rás na mBan for the team who have subsequently secured her services for this year, Jadan-Weldtite from the UK (Photo: David McVeigh – The Belgian Project)
By Brian Canty
Three of Ireland’s best female riders will race for a top UK-based road team this coming year.
Reigning national cyclocross champion Beth McCluskey as well as Michelle Geoghegan and Shauna McFadden will all race in the colours of the Jadan-Weldtite team for 2017.
McFadden rode for the team last year in the An Post Rás na mBan and impressed them enough to be asked back for the coming year.
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Geoghegan and McCluskey will be two of the team’s more established riders and their roles will be as much about developing the team’s younger members as well as getting results.
The Irish trio will mostly race in the UK and will travel over and back as the schedule demands while they’ll also compete in Ireland and Belgium.
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McCluskey has been absolutely flying on the cyclocross scene in recent months and goes into the national championships as a hot favourite (Photo: Toby Watson)
McCluskey has ridden road in the past but often just as preparation for her off-road commitments.
However, the Dublin woman is looking forward to riding a full road season in 2017.
Geoghegan, from Greystones, will challenge McCluskey for the national cyclocross title in Co. Down this weekend and will do so as teammates for the first time.
McFadden is a quality young rider and is in a team full of the best road and track cyclists in the UK.
They have a roster of around 16, the majority of which are junior or U23 so she should fit right in there.
We’ll have a chat with the young Donegal rider soon. The team is the brainchild of well-known bikini model competitor and cyclist Victoria Hood.
Michelle Geoghegan in Rás na mBan action for Orwell-Scott last September (Photo: Sean Rowe)
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