PHILIP LAVERY, one of Ireland’s most exciting young riders, will be in the line-up for next week’s FBD Insurance Rás next after all.

NEIL DELAHAYE, who produced the best performance seen on Irish roads so far this year with his solo victory on the gruelling South Kerry stage of Rás Mumhan, has been named on the SUBWAY Irish team for the FBD Insurance Rás, which gets under way in two weeks time.

CHRIS NEWTON has the opportunity to join the legends of cycling over the coming week by winning the FBD Insurance Rás for a third time and John Herety, manager of the British Rapha Condor team, admitted on the eve of Irish cycling’s showpiece that the former world champion and three-time Olympic medallist has that as his ambition.

TWO of Ireland’s leading hopes for the FBD Insurance Rás, Brian Kenneally and Paul Griffin, have been out of sorts recently but expect to go to the line in Kilcullen for Sunday’s opening stage to Wexford town with all guns blazing.

BRIAN KENNEALLY has recovered from his third win in the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan, but has not yet decided if he will contest the Shay Elliott Memorial in Bray next Sunday when he could opt for the big race down south, the Bill Hyland Memorial in Clonmel.

BRIAN KENNEALLY goes to the line for today’s opening stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in Killorglin with his sights firmly set on a third victory in the race.

THE potential presence of Stuart O’Grady with Team CSC could add an exciting dimension to the inaugural Tour of Ireland (August 22-26).

BRIAN KENNEALLY (Myhome.ie/BD BC) was rewarded for his courage with a sensational victory after riding clear of the breakaway group a mile from the finish of yesterday’s 91 mile second stage of the FBD Insurance RÁS from Templemore to Loughrea.

MARK SCANLON will make his return to international cycling in a familiar green jersey when he lines up with the Subway Eat Fresh Irish team for the start of the FBD Insurance RÁS in Naas on Sunday.

BRIAN KENNEALLY (MyHome.ie/BDBC) won Rás Mumhan in a pulsating finish in Killorglin yesterday.

BRIAN KENNEALLY is bidding to reclaim the Rás Mumhan title — the highlight of the Easter Weekend cycling programme — but he admitted it will be a tall order.

CHRIS NEWTON goes to the start line in Tallaght tomorrow defending his FBD Insurance Rás title.

ANDY ROCHE, winner of the title in 1997, has been forced to pull out of next week’s FBD Insurance RÁS following a disastrous crash 500m from the finish of Sunday’s Rutland GP.

HOPES of wresting the FBD Insurance RÁS title back from England’s Chris Newton got a major boost yesterday with news that two-time winner Ciaran Power is making a dramatic return on O’Connell Street on May 21 to lead the Dan Morrissey/Tipperary team.

THE Martin Donnelly/Sean Kelly professional cycling team will make its Irish debut in this weekend’s five stage Credit Union Rás Mumhan in Co. Kerry.

Brendan Mooney

DAVID McCANN and Paul Griffin, team mates with the Giant Asia professional team, are the men likely to dictate Credit Union Rás Mumhan in Kerry over the weekend, but they won’t have it their own way when they join forces on the Earl of Desmond team.

DAVID McCANN will begin his build-up to a defence of his FBD Insurance RÁS title in Kerry over the Easter weekend, when he lines up as favourite to win the Rás Mumhan, the perfect prelude to Irish cycling’s showpiece.

Tommy Evans, following a good 1 1/2 mile time trial on the third stage of the Tour of Ulster in Omagh, is the overnight leader as the cyclists head to Emyvale for the final stage today.

STEPHEN O’SULLIVAN (Cycleways Lee Strand) won his first national senior title in the All-Ireland Criterium Championship around the famed Monaghan Road circuit in Cork yesterday.

CYCLIST Conor Murphy was last night suspended from competition with immediate effect until midnight August 11 for contravention of International Cycling Union (UCI) anti-doping regulations.

IRISH cyclist Conor Murphy has tested positive for the substance pseudoephedrine, in a test carried out at the Tour of Ulster on May 5th, 2003.

TIMMY BARRY got the perfect boost in advance of the FBD Milk Rás when he reclaimed the Tour of Ulster over the bank holiday weekend – a title he won in magnificent style two years ago.