Deignan back in the saddle

CYCLING:FIVE MONTHS after he won a stage in the Vuelta a España and finished ninth overall, Philip Deignan will get his 2010 season under way this Sunday.

The 26-year-old Letterkenny rider will line out with several others from the Cervélo Test Team squad in the Clasica de Almeria in Spain.

Deignan was hampered by a knee problem over the winter months and is likely to use a few races to hone his form before chasing results.

He is due to ride the Vuelta a Murcia and the Volta ao Catalunya in March, and will probably also contest the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe-Pays de la Loire in April.

Those should set him up for a strong ride in the Ardennes classics, namely Fléche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which will represent his first real goals of the season.

Several other Irish riders are also in action this weekend. Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) will contest the Grand Prix Insubria and the Grand Prix de Lugano, two 1.1 events in Switzerland.

He has already shown flashes of good form this year, and is likely to ride aggressively in at least one of those races.

Over in Belgium, the An Post Grant Thornton M Donnelly Seán Kelly team will line out in its biggest event yet this season when it takes part in tomorrow’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a prestigious semi-Classic. David O’Loughlin, Páidí O’Brien and Connor McConvey will be the Irish entrants in that, and will also ride the following day’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Team-mates Mark Cassidy, Ronan McLaughlin and Matt Brammeier will contest the Beverbeek Classic tomorrow.

“I am really excited to see how the weekend is going to unfold,” said general manager Kurt Bogaerts.

“Both races on Saturday will be televised in Belgium, so it’s a great chance for the team to do well in front of the cameras.”

In related news, the An Post Cycle Series was launched last Sunday and will feature one event per month between May and September. Each will have a variety of routes and distances, catering for all levels.

The first will be the An Post Tour of Sligo on Sunday, May 9th.

Details at anpost.ie/cycling.

Finally, the domestic road racing season gets under way this weekend with a number of good events.

The first is tomorrow’s Annaclone GP tomorrow, while there are races on Sunday in Leinster, Ulster and Munster.

FIXTURES

Saturday: Annaclone GP, Hawthorn Inn, noon.

Sunday: Paddy Neary Memorial, Dowdallshill GFG. Phoenix GP, Crumlin (Ulster), 11am. Lacey Cup, Tralee, 12.15pm. BMX open day, Kilmaine road, Ballinrobe, 11am.