Nally still eyes road to Athens

Cycling News: Spanish-based Corkman Dermot Nally is training hard in advance of what will be a vitally important second season in the pro ranks.

The 24-year-old went frustratingly close to winning the intermediate sprints jersey in the prestigious Tour of the Basque Country last April, but despite that good ride got in only 40 days of racing with his Paternina-Costa Almeria team this year.

Nally had been due to start the season in late spring but was instead asked to start racing in February.

"It was a tough year," he says. "I had to start before I was fully fit and as a result had a hard time in some of the races. Then there was a big gap without competition, which made it very hard to build form.

"I am training hard now and am hoping for a much better season. A lot of guys in Spain and Italy were left without contracts, but luckily I had been given a two-year deal by the team because I was an under-25. The team will be much stronger this year so we should get a better choice of races."

While Nally is not listed on the preliminary squad from which the riders for the Olympic road race will be chosen, a strong showing in 2004 could yet see him earn a place amongst those vying for those slots.

Already certain for Greece is Irish mountain-bike champion Robin Seymour, who earlier this week was confirmed as reaching a career-best high of 35th in the world rankings.

Seymour's fine, top-50 finish earns Ireland a place in the elite men's cross country event at Athens.

Under the selection criteria laid out last year, he will, barring injury, take part in his second Olympics next summer.

A strong end-of-season sees Jenny McCauley and Tarja Owens finish the year ranked 39th and 42nd respectively, and joint 15th in the nations' ranking for the Olympics.

The top 14 automatically qualify, but it is likely that a place will filter down to Ireland, leaving the Irish duo to fight it out between themselves for that probable Olympic start.

This slot will be settled in the first three world cup races of the season, with the combined UCI points total from these events determining who goes to Greece.

FIXTURES - Saturday: All-Ireland cyclo-cross league, round five: Castle Park, Bangor. Underage event starts at noon, main race at 1 p.m.