CYCLING: Following his strong debut to the season, Mark Scanlon has got a big vote of confidence from his Ag2R team with the news that he has been selected as part of their squad for tomorrow's tough Belgian semi-classic, the Omploop Het Volk.
Scanlon rode well in the Tour Down Under and Tour of the Mediterranean this season, and more recently did some valuable team work which paved the way for Jaan Kirsipuu's 100th career win in the Haribo Classic last Sunday.
Still just 22, Scanlon will again play a supporting role for team leader Kirsipuu in the prestigious 200km clash, but few doubt he is on the way to a top career in the professional ranks. Scanlon has wasted no time in getting to grips with professional racing and is already riding as strongly as more experienced riders.
Fellow neo-pro Dermot Nally is continuing his start to the season, with the Spanish-based Corkman competing alongside some of the world's top stage race riders in the Vuelta Valenciana.
Nally performed respectably in the opening three stages, placing 86th in the opening time trial, 87th on Wednesday and 86th again yesterday. He is 107th overall.
Meanwhile, fellow professional Ciarán Power remains sidelined due to tendonitis, but his Navigators team manager reports that the Waterford cyclist is making good progress in his recovery.
"Ciarán seems to be improving daily and I expect he will be racing in Feyt-le-Franc on March 5th. Hopefully it's straight up from there," said Ed Beamon.
This weekend marks the start of the Irish domestic season, with a number of races to chose from. Tomorrow sees events in Kilcullen and Annaclone, with the Lacey Cup in Tralee and the Cycleways Cup in Navan following on Sunday. A good field is expected for each race, although missing from the latter event will be 2002 winner Martin O'Loughlin, who broke his elbow and collarbone in a recent training accident.
Finally, the organisers of the FBD Milk Rás yesterday announced that Cuchalann Crystal will sponsor a special award for the first county rider on each stage of this year's race. The elevation of the Irish tour to the international calendar has seen a marked increase in the difficulty of the event, and so this presentation is intended to provide Irish amateurs with additional encouragement when lining out against the professionals. Similarly, Cycleways will be backing an award for the leading home riders in the general classification.
FIXTURES
SATURDAY: Ulster handicap road race, Annaclone. Starts noon. March Hare road race, Kilcullen.
SUNDAY: Cycleways Cup, Navan. Starts 12.30. Lacey Cup handicap, Tralee. Starts noon.
