Roche aims for national first

CYCLING:The 2007 Irish road championships starts this evening in Dungarvan with the time trial title. Defending champion David O'Loughlin (Navigators Insurance), former winner David McCann (Colavita Sutter Home), Ryan Connor (Giant Asia) and ProTour rider Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) are among the favourites.

Tomorrow the women and veterans will line out in Carrick-on- Suir for their road races. The first of these will see a battle between four in-form internationals.

Defending champion Siobhán Dervan (Lotto Bodisol) and Louise Moriarty (Global Racing Team/Winning Solutions) competed in the Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden last week, with Dervan finishing 33rd.

Rapha Condor riders Jenny Fay and Julie O'Hagan recently completed the women's Tour de France, placing 31st and 39th.

Heather Wilson (Maryland Wheelers) and Orla Hendron (Orwell Dundrum Town Centre) took the top places in round five of the national women's league last Sunday and are likely to be amongst the strongest of the domestic-based competitors.

On Sunday, defending champion McCann will take on Roche, who is keen to get his first Irish senior title and thus earn the right to wear the national champion's jersey for the next year, as well as O'Loughlin, local favourite Ciarán Power (Navigators Insurance), 2006 under-23 champion Paídí O'Brien (Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Paul Griffin (Giant Asia), plus Roche's cousin Daniel Martin (VC La Pomme).

A total of 100 riders have signed up for the 169-kilometre event, which will also incorporate the Under-23 championships. A much smaller field will dispute the 106-kilometre junior title race. Riders such as Denis Dunworth (Vsk Pays Lamballe) and Philip Lavery (Usher Irish Road Club) should be in the thick of the action.

Lavery showed excellent form in winning the Stephen Roche GP on Wednesday, making the most of his handicap as a junior rider to attack immediately after the drop of the flag, chase, and eventually catch the back of the Senior 1 bunch.

This lap gained saw him take the final victory over Pádraig Marrey (Murphy & Gunn/Newlyn Group), Tim O'Regan (My Home.ie/BDBC) and Roche, who was using the race for training and to loosen up prior to the nationals.

Finally, primary team sponsor Stephen Murphy has given the thumbs up to the inclusion of the Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M Donnelly/Sean Kelly team in the Tour of Ireland line-up.

FIXTURES:Friday: National time trial championships, sign on at St Augustine's College, Duckspool, Dungarvan. Racing begins at 7 pm.

Saturday:National women's and veterans' RR championships, Carrick-on-Suir. Sign on at Carrick Utd FC, racing starts 1pm. Irish downhill NPS, Killarney. Sundrive track training, Eamonn Ceannt Park. Starts 11am.

Sunday:National elite,/U23, junior RR championships, Waterford. NPS XCO round 5, Wicklow. Starts noon, call Ross McClure for information at 086 2300950.

Monday:Track training, Eamonn Ceannt Park. Starts 7 pm.