McKenna believes Scanlon is on course for worlds medal
Now cyclist Mark Scanlon could be about to add to the treasure chest over the coming weeks when he lines up for the world championships in Belgium.
That’s the firm opinion of Ciaran McKenna, a member of Irish cycling’s High Performance Committee, as he reflected on the Sligo man’s performance in the Grand Prix Isbergues in France on Sunday.
The former world junior champion lined up against a field that included all the top professionals. In the end victory went to Cederic Vasseur (Confidis), who wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France a couple of years ago and, this time, finished 23 seconds ahead of a chasing group of four which involved Scanlon.
The Irishman finished second in the sprint for second place to his AG2r-Prevoyance team mate, Capelle with the main field a long way back.
“It was a super performance by Mark Scanlon,” Ciaran McKenna insisted. “I know we all have to play it down a bit at this stage but to be brutally honest we must fancy his chances of a medal in the worlds in two weeks time.”
Ciaran McKenna was just back from the GP Tell in Switzerland where he saw Corkman Denis Lynch, the Kanturk Credit Union rider who has been riding for the French club, VC La Pomme, this season, finish 15th and reinforce his claim to a place in the team that will back Scanlon in the under-23 race on October 11.
He clinched his place on the team way back in the season and now will have a leading role to play in getting Scanlon into a medal winning position. National under-23 champion, Dermot Nally, who is currently competing in Italy, is another certainty.
Denis Lynch, whose twin brother, Daniel, is also an excellent cyclist, was one of three Irish finishers in Switzerland at the weekend where Gary McQuaid and Tim Cassidy laid down their claims to places on the under-23 team which will be named over the coming days.
Philip Duignan from Donegal who finished fourth in the Tour of the Peaks and also had a very good ride in the Tour of Malaysia, is also in contention for one of the two remaining places on the five-man team.
Team Ireland, which is under the direction of the Listowel international, Eugene Moriarty, is based close to the course for the world championships and Irish riders have trained over it.
The scheme, funded by the Irish Sports Council, has been a huge success this year and plans are already under discussion for expansion next year.
The scheme, under which Cycling Ireland have a house rented, enables Irish cyclists to train and live on the continent and avail of their races.
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