Vuelta a España stage winner Daniel Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) and his first cousin Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) will both hope that the Vuelta a España guarantees them good form for the world road race championships, with the duo being named to the Irish team for the September 25th event.
Martin won stage nine of the Vuelta and is currently fourteenth overall. Roche is four places further back in the race, and has vowed to ride aggressively until the end. Fellow ProTour rider Matt Brammeier (HTC Highroad) and Giant Asia’s David McCann are also listed on the Irish squad for Copenhagen, although only three will be eligible to ride the road race.
Brammeier, who is the current national road race and time trial champion, will line out in the race against the clock on September 21st. Past national champ McCann is also confirmed for that test.
A total of nine riders will travel to Denmark for the races. There’s no female entrant this year due to Cycling Ireland’s decision not to select a rider.
“In 2011 we have no women riders who have performed at sufficiently high level to include in the team,” said the federation in a statement. “However with the development system we are building it is hoped the level will rise and we can be represented at world level in the near future.”
National champion Siobhan Horgan was hoping to be picked for the event, having ridden solidly in the worlds in the past. She was second in two French Cup races in June and finished 19th overall in the 2.2-ranked Tour de Bretagne in July. More recently she rode the World Cup race in Plouay but was delayed in a crash, and yesterday finished in the chase group sprinting for 14th place in the Tour de l’Ardeche.
“I haven’t heard anything but if its true then I'm very disappointed,” Horgan told VeloNation. “I have good form and think I could be competitive there.”
Three Irish riders will compete in the Under 23 road race. An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly riders Sam Bennett and Philip Lavery will join up with Felix English for the contest, with the latter also riding the time trial.
Last year’s national champion Jack Wilson will be one of two riders in the junior road race, and showed good form recently when he won the 1.1 Ronde des Vallees. The second is Ryan Mullen, who won the UK circuit TT championships last weekend, but wasn’t eligible for the jersey due to his nationality; he will do the road race and the time trial.
Cycling Ireland’s Performance Director Phil Leigh says that he is optimistic about the Irish campaign. “We are happy we have a strong team focused and ready to perform at the highest level.”
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Irish team for UCI world road race championships, September 19 – 25:
Senior (M)
Daniel Martin (RR)
Nicholas Roche (RR)
Matt Brammeier (TT & RR)
David McCann (TT & RR)
U23 (M):
Sam Bennett (RR)
Philip Lavery (RR)
Felix English (RR & TT)
Junior (M):
Jack Wilson (RR)
Ryan Mullen (RR & TT)