Beijing road-race target

CYCLING:Following the recent news Ireland have been allocated two places in the Olympic road race next August, those with an eye to competing there will be planning their 2008 seasons with a view to hitting peak form at the crucial times.

In 2003 Ciarán Power produced what was possibility the best performance by any Irish athlete at the Athens Games when he sprinted in 13th out of 144 starters. The Waterford rider was clear for several laps in a break but still had enough left in the tank to finish ahead of many of the world's top names.

Power's plans to build on that result were frustrated when he began to suffer from the effects of endofibrosis of the iliac artery. The blood flow problem caused numbness and loss of strength in competition; while it was eventually successfully diagnosed and treated, the problem prevented him from consolidating what he achieved in Athens.

Power and David O'Loughlin are with the new Pezula team and qualification for Beijing is a big target for 2008. The former is likely to target the road race once again, while Irish road race champion O'Loughlin is joining several others such as David McCann in chasing qualification for the track events in the 2008 Games.

A strong performance in the track World Cups is the mechanism for doing so; they will compete in the Beijing, Los Angeles and Ballerup (Denmark) rounds, with the first of these taking place from December 7th-9th. Depending on how that campaign goes, O'Loughlin may look at chasing a place in the Olympic road race.

Philip Deignan and Nicolas Roche will also be thinking about selection for this event. Both are with ProTour teams and are likely to be racing regularly at a higher level than the other Irish riders. This gives them an edge but, even so, remaining injury free and maintaining good condition is vital for their aims of heading to China next summer.

The late Gerry Brannigan will be remembered in a Memorial cycle on Sunday. Starting at Clonee, the ride will raise money for the related benevolent fund.

FIXTURES: Tomorrow: Women's commission agm, Spawell Leisure Centre Templeogue. Starts 2 pm. Sunday: Gerry Brannigan Memorial Cycle, starts 10 am from McDonalds Pub in Clonee. 35 and 75 km distances. Cyclo cross race, Castle Park, Bangor. Underage races at 11.30, main event at 1.30 pm. Connacht MTB league round 3, Tourmakeady Wood, Co Mayo. Racing starts at noon.