DAVID McCANN, who clinched his place in the Olympic road race with victory in the Manx International in the Isle of Man two weeks ago, leaves on Monday to finalise his Atlanta preparation in Arizona. Before that, however, he has the Irish road race championship at Portglenone, Co Antrim, on Sunday.
The Bann Valley club had a lot of difficulty deciding which circuit to use. The first and second choices were rejected by the RUC because of parades, but the third one has been passed, and Oliver Hunter gave me some details.
There is a lap of 13.2 miles, "with about two and a half miles of climb in g each time around". It will be covered six times, but there will be almost 12 miles from the start at Greenlough (12.10) and back again to the finish, so the total distance will be 104 miles.
The juniors do tour laps for their championship, which will get under way five minutes after the seniors.
McCann said he does not know the course, but added "the harder it is the better it will be for me". Richie McCauley beat him at Naas last Sunday, but McCann maintained: "He was more motivated than I was there. It will be different in the championship."
Now that McCauley has reverted to road racing from the mountain bike scene, he has to be regarded as a leading contender for the title. But last year's champion at Wexford, Micheal Fitzgerald, will not be defending. Following a loss of form, Fitzgerald has decided to take a month or so off competition before he returns to his Paris team for the end of season programme.
Stephen Maher, second last year for the third time, has retired, but Tommy Evans, who was third at Wexford, tries again. Aidan Duff has obvious claims too, while Paul Giles and Mark Hutton will be back from their clubs in Belgium and France. Finn O'Sullivan is racing in Portugal and Peter Daly is not expected home either, but the strong field, headed by McCann, will ensure a lively contest.
In addition to McCann's Olympic assignment, there is a possibility of getting into one of the Continental trade teams following his Isle of Man triumph against some professionals. The tag of Irish champion on his CV would be very beneficial.
McCann has sought advice from Sean Kelly on how he should tackle the Olympic road race, with survival the principal aim.
As winner of the three events in the junior classic league, at Carlow, Newbridge and then Naas last Sunday. Barry Twohig must be hot favourite for the junior title. Afterwards, Tony Allen will be naming a list of six from which four will be chosen for the Junior Tour from August 4th-11th. Then a maximum of three will go to Slovenia for the world junior championship on August 18th.
McCann leaves on Sunday for training in the heat and altitude at Flagstaff, Arizona. He was there early in the year, and the Australian team will also be based there. McCann will then move on to Atlanta on July 22nd for his race on the 31st.
Philip Collins, who has been preparing for his Olympic track engagement at Manchester, is due home in Dublin today. His custom built pursuit bike was stolen last week near Brighton, where he was undergoing some tests, but he leaves on Monday with McCann and national team director, Alasdair MacLennan, to complete his preparation on the track at Fort Lauderdale, which is very like Atlanta.
Collins is due to join Declan Lonergan in Atlanta on Monday week. The event Collins has qualified for, the 4,000 metres pursuit, is on July 24th, while Lonergan's points race is on the 28th. The mountain bike men, Martin Earley and Alastair Martin, fly out on Monday week; they are in action at Atlanta on the 30th.
