Irish there in numbers

CyclingCycling Ireland announced the biggest ever line-up of Irish competitors for a world championship campaign yesterday, with a total of 14 riders to compete in the time-trials and road races in Verona, Italy, in late September and early October.

Probably the best chance for a medal will come in the under-23 category, where the highly promising Philip Deignan will line out on a course which suits his strong climbing abilities.

He has performed strongly in big international events all year, winning an under-23 World Cup stage race, taking third on two mountain stages of the under-26 Tour of Italy and, most recently, riding impressively against some of the world's top professionals in the highly-ranked Tour of Britain.

The Letterkenny rider will be joined in the under-23 road race by Nicolas Roche, son of the 1987 Tour de France winner Stephen Roche, who is currently on a trial with the professional Cofidis team. Three other talented cyclists - Tim Cassidy, Paídi O'Brien and Andrew McQuaid will compete the under-23 line-up.

Tour de France rider Mark Scanlon and Ciarán Power, who was 13th in the Olympics, will both miss the championships due to fatigue and injury.

As a result, Irish hopes in the elite events will rest on the shoulders of the 2004 FBD Milk Rás winner David McCann and David O'Loughlin, the Irish road race champion. They will ride both the time-trial and the road race in Verona.

The women's road race will see the first Irish entrants in three years, with Colette Swift and Louise Moriarty squaring up against the world's best in that event. In addition, Mary Brennan will become the first ever Irish entrant in the junior women's road race.

The Grant Thornton Team Ireland world championship squad will be completed by four male juniors; Martin Monroe and Ciarán Kelly will compete in the time-trial and will then be joined by Maurice O'Brien and Mark Nestor in the road race.

The Verona world championships will begin on September 27th with the junior women's time-trial, and conclude on Sunday, October 3rd with the Elite men's road race.

Before then, Swift, Moriarty and Brennan will fine-tune their form by taking part in the TQ Paper International Two Day this weekend.

Over 60 riders have entered the race, including competitors from the RG Charlottenburg team in Germany plus the Dutch Team Movingladies Groenewoud and the W.V. Alcmaria Victrix squads. There will also be a large number of riders from Wales and England, making it one of the most impressive line-ups yet seen for women's racing in this country.

Moriarty, Swift and Brennan will be joined by national champion Julie O'Hagan, Siobhán Dervan and Erin Turlington on the national team, There will also be a Team Ireland B line-up comprising Róisín Kennedy, Orla Hendron, Siobhán Jacob, Gillian McDarby, Grace McNally and Emma Quirke, plus Ulster and Leinster selections.

The TQ Paper International starts tomorrow with two stages, an eight-lap, 64-kilometre circuit race and then a 2-kilometre time-trial.

A 74-kilometre road race concludes matters on Sunday.