Scanlon set for Tour place

Cycling: Following a victorious double in Estonia over the weekend which netted 120 world ranking points in just two days, 23-year-old Mark Scanlon looks increasingly likely to take part in both the Olympic Games and Tour de France this summer.

The former world junior champion has been described by Olympic manager Martin O'Loughlin as a virtual certainty for a place on the two-man Irish team for the road race in Athens.

Expectations are mounting that later this month he will be selected by his Ag2R Prevoyance team for the Tour, making him the first Irish participant since Stephen Roche's swansong performance 11 years ago.

Scanlon, a second year professional with the French squad, broke clear with 20 kilometers remaining in the Tallinn GP on Friday in Estonia, earning his third professional win by over a minute.

Less than 24 hours later he was at it again, outsprinting seven others to win the Tartu Tänavasõit.

Both Estonian races are ranked 1.3 on the international calendar, earning the Sligoman 60 points for each success. Scanlon is currently ranked 159th in the world but this latest haul of points should bring him inside the top 120.

A place in the world's top 100 is very possible this season, and would be a fine achievement for a rider of his age.

Scanlon first came to international prominence when he won the junior world title in Valkenburg in 1998.

Following a successful amateur career in France, he made his pro debut with Ag2R Prevoyance last year and won the opening stage of the Tour of Denmark.

He also defended his national champion's jersey with a dominant win on home soil in Sligo.

Regarded as the most talented Irish cyclist since Kelly and Roche, Scanlon has been riding for his team in most of the events this season, content to build his form for that possible Tour ride and the Olympics.

He did, however, place second in the GP Denain in April and was then fourth in the Trophée des Grimpeurs last month, taking points in both 1.3 events.

His Estonian performances are even more important and show, as the countdown to the Tour continues, that he is well in the hunt for a place on the team.

"It's nice to get those wins at this stage of the year, I am pretty happy," he said.

"I won the first race on my own after breaking away inside the last 20 kilometres. The following day, it came down to a sprint against seven others and I was fastest there."

"My chances for the Tour are pretty high. I will know for sure after the Route du Sud later this month. That will be my next race.

"I had been down to do the Tour of Germany but the team feel that with the Olympic Games later this summer, it would have been too much to do the Tour of Germany, the Route du Sud and, possibly, the Tour de France."

The Route du Sud runs from June 19th-22nd. A good showing there should guarantee Scanlon's place at the Tour start in Liege, Belgium, on July 3rd.