Top team signs up for Tour of Ireland

CYCLING:With just under 12 weeks remaining until the start of the race, the first top-level team to participate in the professional Tour of Ireland has been confirmed.

Race organisers yesterday announced that the ProTour Unibet.com squad have signed up for the world-ranked event, which returns this August, some 15 years after the last Nissan Classic Tour of Ireland.

The Swedish-registered team includes former Tour de France points classification winner Baden Cooke, 2006 Tour stage victor Jimmy Casper, and former double British road race champion Jeremy Hunt. "We are delighted that a team of Unibet's stature is coming to the Tour of Ireland," said project director Darach McQuaid yesterday.

"This squad includes Tour de France stage winner Jimmy Casper and Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke, and competes at the highest level in Europe and around the world."

All three are very strong sprinters and providing they line out, can be expected to be in the thick of the battles for stage wins.

McQuaid is expecting more big teams to confirm their participation soon. "Negotiations with other top level teams are ongoing," he said. "The reaction from team directors . . . has been very positive, and we expect to make some major team announcements in the coming days."

The Fáite Ireland-backed Tour of Ireland gets under way on August 22nd with a 160-kilometre stage from Kilkenny Castle to Cork. There will be additional stage finishes in Killarney, Ennis, Galway and Dublin.

In other news, Irish amateur Daniel Martin boosted his chances of landing a pro deal when he performed with distinction in the prestigious Ronde de l'Isard last weekend. The VC La Pomme competitor won the King of the Mountains classification, finished second on two tough mountain stages and placed fourth overall. He was also third in the points ranking and his squad dominated the team competition, beating closest rivals Colombia es Pasion by 20 minutes five seconds.

Martin raced for Britain as a junior rider but then declared for Ireland, feeling he was better supported by this country. His mother is a sister of Stephen Roche, and this dual nationality enabled him to switch countries.

He is a strong climber and feels his ride should help him land a contract for 2008. "I have had some contact with teams already . . . I am seen as one of the best climbers in Europe at the moment and teams are always looking for riders who can do that well."

Finally, Ciarán Power showed he is back to form after his crash in last month's Tour of Georgia when he placed fifth in the Bike Jam/Kelly Cup in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday. The race saw a one-two by his Navigators Insurance team-mates Hilton Clarke and Viktor Rapinski. Power was part of a group which sprinted for third, some 24 seconds after Clarke crossed the line.

FIXTURES: Today-Sunday: Rás Dún na Gall, Killybegs. Stage one starts 7.30pm. Saturday-Sunday: Kia Motors Rás na nÓg two-day, Drogheda. First race at 11am. Irish DH NPS round 3, Gortin Glen, Armagh. Saturday: Leinster TT championships, sign on 2 miles north of Carrickmacross on N2. Starts 11am. Track training, Eamonn Ceannt Park, 11am. Cycling Ulster Youth TT championships, Portadown. Starts 1pm. Sunday: Leinster RR championships, sign on at Dowdallshill GFB, Old Newry Rd, Dundalk.Racing starts at 1pm. Noel Teggard memorial, Banbridge. Starts noon. M Kennedy 10 mil TT, Woodgreen. Starts 9am.

Nicolas Roche took his best placing in the Giro d'Italia when he sprinted home 13th on yesterday's stage. The 22-year-old Irish rider finished in the same time as Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram), who out-galloped Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) and 122 others to win his fourth stage of the race.

Race leader Danilo Di Luca finished in the group and preserved his two minute 24 second advantage over closest rival Andy Schleck (Team CSC). Schleck needs to pull out the time trial of his life to get back the time in tomorrow's race against the clock.