Power left in limbo again

Irish professional Ciaran Power faces an uncertain future with the news that his St Quentin-Oktos team may not continue next season. Eight months after the collapse of the Linda McCartney outfit, the Waterford rider again finds himself in limbo as he awaits news of the future of the second division squad.

Power was scheduled to end his season in Sunday's Paris-Tours classic, but tendonitis forced him to retire from last weekend's Paris-CorrΦze stage race and he has taken an early boat home to Ireland.

After a difficult year due to bad luck and injury, Power's morale is low, but he has shown enough talent and character to warrant a second chance.

The season is far from over for other riders, with the 10-man Grant Thornton Team Ireland squad making their final preparations for next week's world championships in Lisbon. The team was unveiled at an impressive ICF press launch this week, an occasion which did much to show the new professionalism brought to the federation by people such as PJ Nolan and Eamon Duffy.

Named on the squad were under-23 riders Mark Scanlon, Dermot Nally, Gary McQuaid and Denis Lynch; the junior quartet of Tim Cassidy, Paudi O'Brien, Philip Deignan and Nicolas Roche; Elite time trial entrant David McCann, and Susan O'Mara, who will line out in the Elite women's road race.

O'Mara has an opportunity to fine-tune her preparation against international competition this weekend in the TQ Paper women's two-day. Comprising three stages, the race has attracted five teams from the UK, plus riders from the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland itself. The action starts tomorrow with a road race at 11.0 and a time trial at 4.0, with the concluding road stage beginning at 10.0 on Sunday morning. Also taking place is the national mountainbike downhill championships at Ravensdale, Co Louth.

Last week's Hibernian-Sean Kelly tour has been pronounced a great success, with over 250 people taking part. The four-day Blazing Saddles cycle was led by Kelly and double Milk Rβs champion Philip Cassidy and raised over £100,000 for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland.

The ICF have reported a strong level of interest in their Portumna Bikefest weekend, which runs from Friday 23rd-Sunday 25th of November. The ICF a.g.m. a gala champions night prizegiving, a tour on Lough Derg and several leisure events are all scheduled. Contact the ICF on 01 8551522 for more information, or go to www.icf.ie. Accommodation can be booked by contacting Denise Campbell at 0509 41777.