PLACES AT TOUR OF BRITAIN STILL UP FOR GRABS

 

Five Irishmen in action for An Post team this week

 

Matt Brammeier, Connor McConvey, Ronan McLaughlin, Mark Cassidy and Philip Lavery are all in action over in Belgium this week as they seek to cement their place in the An Post team for the upcoming Tour of Britain next month.

 

Irish national champion Brammeier is joined by McLaughlin, McConvey and Cassidy on an eight man team to take part in the Druivenkoers – Overijse (1.1) this Wednesday. While Dubliner Lavery will race with Brammeier as part of another eight man team to ride at the Schaal Sels (1.1) on Sunday.

 

Team manager Kurt Bogaerts had this to say ahead of the two races this week. "I will name the team for the Tour of Britain next week, so these are the final couple of races before then. I have a good idea of who will be in the line up, but there is one or maybe two positions left to fill."

 

"Wednesday's race is quite hilly and difficult, while Sunday will be a fast race as it's mostly on flat roads. I'd like to see one of the guys on the podium in both races and that's what we are aiming for" Bogaerts added.

 

Bogaerts also had some promising news on the injury front, with Irishmen David O'Loughlin and Paidi O'Brien both returning to action in the coming days. "David (O'Loughlin) is back cycling and is at a training camp with the national team in Switzerland this week. Paidi will be back in Belgium in the next few days and I hope he will be racing again next week."

 

Meanwhile it was announced today that a staggering total of 3,700 cyclists have signed up to take part in the penultimate An Post Cycle Series event of the summer, the Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford, which takes place this weekend (August 28th/29th).

LAVERY AND HALPIN TO LINK UP WITH AN POST TEAM

 

Two of Ireland's up and coming young cyclists to join Sean Kelly outfit for rest of season

 

29th July 2010: The An Post Sean Kelly team today announced that Phillip Lavery and Stephen Halpin are to join the team until the end of the season as part of a trail period with the Belgium based side. The young Dubliners hold impressive CV's and are seen as two of the countries top young cyclists.

 

As a youth cyclist Lavery was a triple all Ireland track champion and a member of the Olympic development team. This year has seen him victorious both home and abroad, finishing top of the overall classifications in the Tour of the North, Jimmy Lally Memorial and Traders Cup as well as the Wervik, Ramsdonk (Elite U23) and Lanskouter (Elite U23) in Europe. He was also a stage winner in the Tour of Ulster in May, taking the U23 classification, and he recently had a notable Rás, holding onto the County jersey for a number of days.

Philip Lavery, who has joined the An Post Sean Kelly team on trial until the end of the road racing season, in action at the European Road Championships in Turkey earlier this month. Picture credit: Stephen McMahon / Sportsfile		Teammates: Pictured in blue within a sea of green is Stephen Halpin, who has joined the An Post Sean Kelly team on trial until the end of the road racing season. Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile		Sean Kelly launches the 2010 Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford, part of the An Post Cycle Series in the company of the iconic Metal Man overlooking Tramore Bay. The Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford - Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th August 2010 for online entry & full details visit www.theseankellytour.com