Rejuvenated Martyn Irvine lands Aqua Blue contract

Martyn Irvine was heading for the autumn of his career 12 months ago, rounding the bend at 30 years of age and staring down the finishing straight.

The end line would come soon after when he announced he was walking away from cycling with no regrets — but it seems there was one buried deep down. The former king of the track cycling realm suddenly developed a thirst for road racing. Within weeks of the An Post Rás in May he was making enquiries in a bid to fulfil his new dream.

A few thousand kilometres away on the Cote d’Azur on the French Riviera, Cork businessman Rick Delaney was making plans for Ireland’s first ever paid professional cycling team. When word reached Irvine’s hometown of Newtownards, it seemed like some divine intervention had brought them together.