Belgian Eeckhout goes close for An Post team

CYCLING NEWS:NIKO EECKHOUT of the Irish-sponsored An Post Grant Thorton M Donnelly Seán Kelly team went close to sprinting it out for the win on yesterday's morning stage of the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium. The former Belgian national champion was away in a break for much of the 112km stage in and around De Panne, and pushed on ahead with Bobbie Traksel (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team) towards the end.

Despite the reinforcement of Andy Cappelle (Verandas Willems), they were caught five kilometres from the line. American sprinter Tyler Farrar won the stage, while his Garmin-Transitions team-mate David Millar won the afternoon time trial and the overall classification.

Pieter Ghyllebert was best of the An Post team in the final overall standings, taking 32nd. Irishman Connor McConvey was 83rd overall.

The former mountainbike specialist will also race in the Hel van het Mergelland tomorrow plus the Rund um Köln on Monday. Donegal rider Ronan McLaughlin will be part of the squad for both events, while Mark Cassidy will race in the latter event.

The Swedish Team Sprocket squad is the latest to be confirmed for this year’s FBD Insurance Rás in May. The team, which is managed by former Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt, will be led by Swedish time trial champion Alex Wetterhall plus the Australian TT silver medallist Jack Anderson. They will be joined by two more Swedes, Niklas Gustavsson and Freddy Johansson, plus British rider Tobyn Horton.

“The race is one of our major objectives of the season, both for stages and the overall classification,” said Martin McCrossan, who will guide the riders during the eight-day event. It will be the first time we have raced in Ireland, but the terrain suits the riders we have. We are looking for a very strong performance in the race.”

Two other international teams have already been announced; a strong New Zealand selection, plus the Drapac Porsche pro team from Australia.

This year’s FBD Rás will begin in Dunboyne on May 23rd and concludes one week later in Skerries.

Meanwhile, this Easter weekend will see a number of important stage races taking place around the country. In Munster, the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan will begin in Killorglin this afternoon and covers 96.2km before finishing in the same town.

Tomorrow’s stage finishes at the top of Moll’s Gap and will have a major effect on the final outcome. The race will feature over 120 competitors and will cover almost 500km before the conclusion on Monday.

Elsewhere, the 44th running of the Gorey 3 Day will begin tomorrow with a stage from Brittas to Gorey. It also continues until Monday, as does the two-day Rás Chonamara.