Kelly hails team's 'great start'

CYCLING: WITH A tangible mood of both optimism and ambition, the best-ever line-up for the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly was officially presented to the media this week in Tielt, Belgium.

The team had just returned from a highly successful campaign at the Etoile de Bessèges in France, where riders were placed in the top five on every stage. Niko Eeckhout took an excellent win on Sunday’s final leg, outsprinting the main bunch, and fellow Belgian Pieter Gyllebert finished third overall in the 2.1-ranked event.

That represents the best season start to date for the Irish sponsored, Belgian-registered team, and doubtlessly added to the optimism on show on Tuesday.

“The team has had a great start to the year, and now we hope they will keep building on that,” said former world number one Sean Kelly. “We have a much better programme of races this year and there is a chance to chase some good results.”

Targets will include a strong performance in next week’s Volta ao Algarve, where Tour de France champion Alberto Contador will make his season debut and, further ahead, victories in big Belgian and international events.

The team will also ride the FBD Insurance Rás and Tour of Ireland, giving the six Irish riders a chance to shine on home soil.

They are Mark Cassidy, Ronan McLaughlin, Paídí O’Brien, David O’Loughlin, Matt Brammeier and new signing Connor McConvey.

The latter had a very encouraging debut in the Etoile de Bessèges, attacking on the climbs and finishing with the main bunch each day. He finished 10 seconds behind the overall winner Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), placing 48th overall. Given that he had never ridden a stage race before – even in Ireland – the former mountainbike specialist has impressed.

“I didn’t know what to expect in it,” he admitted this week. “It took a couple of stages to get used to riding in the bunch, getting the right position, but then things were fine after that.

“I felt pretty strong, especially on the climbs, and actually wished afterwards that the race continued for a few more days.

The 21-year-old impressed Kelly and team sporting manager Kurt Bogaerts. “He rode very strongly,” said the latter. “He’s got a lot of potential.”

Cassidy has now recovered fully from a bad crash he suffered in the 2008 FBD Insurance Rás and, like the other riders, has been training hard in advance of the new season. He, McLaughlin and O’Loughlin will be part of the team ready to compete in the Volta ao Algarve next week.