CYCLINGONE YEAR after taking his first UCI ProTour event, Dan Martin has returned to the Tour of Poland to defend his title in the race. The Garmin-Cervélo rider took a break from competition after netting a close second in the national road race championships, then pinned on his race numbers again for the recent Brixia Tour. He was tenth on a stage there and got in an important work-out prior to heading to the Polish event.
The race begins on Sunday with a 101.5 kilometre stage from Pruszkow to Warsaw. Martin will stake his overall challenge on the mountainous stages and will be supported by strong team-mates such as Christophe Le Mevel and Heinrich Haussler.
They will be up against a range of big names including Giro d’Italia podium finishers Michele Scarponi (Lampre ISD) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Elsewhere, Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) will hope to ride solidly in this Saturday’s Classica San Sebastian. He was fatigued at the end of the Tour de France and said that he doesn’t expect to match his performance of last year, when he was eighth. However a good balance of racing and rest should help him hit top form for the Vuelta a España, which is his big goal in the second half of the season.
Roche will be joined by two other Irish riders: national road race champion Matt Brammeier (HTC Highroad) and Philip Deignan (Team RadioShack).
In other news, Connor McConvey has decided to return to international racing. He was physically and mentally burnt out at the end of last season and relinquished his place on the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team, but fortunately a break from competition has rekindled his energy and enthusiasm. He will compete with the squad for the rest of the season, and will be part of the field in this weekend’s Suir Valley Three Day in Clonmel.
The race begins tomorrow with a stage from Clonmel to Marlfield. The 2011 edition includes a three kilometre hill climb time trial which will doubtlessly have an effect on the final outcome.
Finally Irish riders have been competing well in the European championships in Portugal. Eoin Mullen was a fine fifth in the junior kilometre TT, setting a new national record there and also in finishing fifth-fastest in the sprint qualifiers.
Ciara Horne took sixth in the Under-23 women’s individual pursuit, while Mark Downey’s 36th was best of the Irish riders in the road race at the European Youth Olympics.
Fixtures
Friday – Sunday: Omagh 3 day, Omagh. Saturday: Mountnugent GP, starts 7.30pm. Saturday – Sunday: Women's track championships, Orangefield.
Saturday – Monday: Suir Valley 3 Day, Clonmel. Stage 1 starts 1pm; Mayo Youth Tour, Kiltimagh.
Sunday: IVCA RR challenge, starts 9.15 in Batterstown.
