So the time has arrived, the Tour de France takes over this weekend. It is only in recent weeks, with road closure signs erected, road repairs completed and the realisation of how towns and cities will be engulfed by the event that some people have come to believe in the magnitude of the promotion.
I have seen cities in France, bigger than Dublin, brought to a standstill by the arrival of the Tour. With movement relatively easy in cars with official Tour stickers I never even gave a second thought then to the inconvenience inflicted on the inhabitants but now that it is happening here some sympathy is due to those who will be trapped in their homes for up eight hours or in some cases those who cannot get home or move around as freely as usual because of the very strict traffic regulations.
Hopefully all will go well with the arrangements - like the other thousand journalists my main concern is getting to the finish in the Phoenix Park and afterwards a prompt passage to the press centre in Dublin Castle. The same applies on Monday, getting from the finish in Cork to the salle de presse there as speedily as possible. In other years with the Tour such trips were usually negotiated without much bother; this will be one of the big tests for the organisation of Le Grand Depart en Irlande. Dublin Castle was a hive of activity yesterday with accreditation badges being distributed and all seemed to go well. I have always lived in Dublin, for many years near to the Phoenix Park, but it was only yesterday when I received the official Tour manual of the route that I learned that the main road in the park was called Chesterfield Avenue. So it's just as well the Tour came here; I would never have known that.
Because of the Tour the only local races listed are at Youghal tomorrow evening and Midleton on Sunday. When the Tour has departed and normality returns there is a race in the Phoenix Park on Tuesday evening and the Leinster Federation start a track league at Sundrive Road on Wednesday.
Although Tommy Evans did not finish the Tour of the Mournes last Saturday he is still way out in front in the classic league. He has 46 points to 24 for Michael McNena, who is due to return to his French team next Tuesday. Aidan Duff, the winner at Newry, continued a great winning sequence in the evening races this week. He goes back to his Vendee U team in France today and has a race there on Sunday.
National team director Richie Beatty has named the Ireland team for the Tour of the Cotswolds at Gloucester on August 2nd. New champion Ray Clarke heads the selection and with him will be Paddy Moriarty, David O'Loughlin, David McQuaid and a first international appearance for Mark Kiernan after a succession of good, high placings.
Beatty's next task will be choosing the Irish team for the under-23 European championship race at Upsala in Sweden on August 16th. Duff and McNena are automatic choices and Beatty has also hinted at Ciaran Power, O'Loughlin and McQuaid being included with the sixth position up for grabs but Eddie O'Donoghue has obvious claims for inclusion.
At a reception in Dublin last evening it was announced that Dixons Electrical will sponsor the Irish squad in the Junior Tour from August 23rd to 30th.
In the mountain bike challenge staged during breaks in the greyhound racing at Shelbourne Park on Wednesday night Sean Kelly and Richie McCauley won the heats but in the final Martin Earley was a very narrow winner over Paul Butler, with McCauley third.
