Irish team to enlist as Belgian squad

CYCLING:SIX IRISH riders will be part of the An Post Grant Thornton Seán Kelly team in 2010, with Connor McConvey electing to ease back on the mountainbike racing and join the squad. McConvey was based in France this year but is expected to move to Belgium and focus more on road racing. He will join previous An Post team members David O'Loughlin, Páidí O'Brien, Mark Cassidy and Ronan McLaughlin, as well as Matt Brammeier.

Brammeier has raced for Britain in the past but declared for Ireland this year. He will also do track racing for the country and recently finished fourth in the scratch race in the Manchester World Cup.

General manager Kurt Bogaerts confirmed to The Irish Times yesterday the team will register as a Belgian squad in 2010. “We are very much still Irish,” he said, “but registering in Belgium will open a lot of doors for us.”

He explained as an Irish squad based in Belgium, UCI rules mean the team was unable to take part in 2.HC and 1.HC-ranked events there, thus meaning it missed out on rides in events such as the Tour of Belgium. Similarly, it was unable to ride national events, meaning that races at the high and low end of the scale were off limits.

FBD Insurance Rás stage winner Niko Eeckhout will remain with the team for at least one more season, then take up a role as a directeur sportif. He won six races for the team in 2009.

The riders will have a training camp from the 14th to 21st of December in Calpe, Spain.

In other news, Rás race announcer Ray Kennedy launched a book this week, The Story of Mickey Palmer – Woollen Jerseys An’ Whiskey Legs, focusing on the career of a former top Rás Tailteann rider. It will be available from Easons and Covie Publications and Recordings in Westport.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

Sunday: Super Cross Cup round three/Ulster CX championships, Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor. First races 11.30am. Munster MTB race, Loughguitane Wood, Muckross. First races at 11.30. IVCA agm, lunch and prize presentation, Springfield Hotel, Leixlip, 1.30pm. BMX open day, Kilmaine road, Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, 11am.