SHANE STOKESlooks at the Irish squad based in Belgium and its attempt to help young Irish riders settle into the racing environment in Europe

BACKED BY mainly Irish sponsors and drawing on the name and advice of one of the world’s best ever cyclists, the Belgium-based An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Seán Kelly team aims to help the next generation of riders make it to the top ranks. Its next target is to defend its title in this month’s FBD Insurance Rás.

Professional cycling is, without a doubt, one of the most travel-intensive sports imaginable. Races are held throughout the season in countless locations in Europe and further afield, with riders competing upwards of 80 days a year, and for between four to seven hours at a time. That’s a whole lot of overseas pedal-time, and one which requires a tough mindset.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, a lot of Irish riders who had been inspired by Seán Kelly and Stephen Roche tried to make a career of it. There were several with the talent to do so, but far too many headed off with dreams and ambitions, only to return homesick and disillusioned.

The aim of the An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Seán Kelly team – plus that of its base, the Seán Kelly Academy in Merchtem, Belgium – is to try to overcome the problem of Irish riders being alone and isolated in Europe, and to increase the chances of them succeeding in the sport.

This year there are five Irish cyclists competing full-time with the team. New signing David O’Loughlin had concentrated on the track earlier this year, placing third and fifth in individual pursuit rounds of cycling’s track World Cup, but has been focusing on road racing for the past couple of months. He competes alongside Paídi O’Brien, Mark Cassidy, Stephen Gallagher and Ronan McLaughlin, who all returned again after some successes last year. This remote hub of Irish riders in Europe helps them to cope with the demands of living abroad and travelling extensively.

The Irish-registered squad is completed by several foreign riders. Former Belgian road-race champion Niko Eeckhout signed to the team this year and has already upped its game. Despite being 38 he has clocked up several good results, including back-to-back stage wins in last month’s Vuelta Ciclista Extremadura in Spain, second in the Dwars door Vlaanderen and 10th in Nokere Koerse. The other non-Irish riders include the Belgians Benny De Schrooder, Kenny Lisabeth, Steven Van Vooren and Jef Peeters, plus the Briton Matt Brammeier.

The idea of having foreign riders is twofold; firstly, they fill the team to required levels and provide additional firepower, taking the pressure off the Irish riders. Secondly, they bring a level of experience to an otherwise mostly young team, helping the quintet to develop.

O’Loughlin has competed with several pro teams and is impressed with the An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Seán Kelly set-up. “I think it is brilliant, it is a huge opportunity for Irish cycling and Irish riders,” he told The Irish Times. “It has a good programme, is a well-organised team and just having Seán there in the background is great. It is amazing seeing him around and how people are so in awe of him and how good he was.”

Kelly’s name and his status as one of the most successful riders in the history of cycling helps ensure the team gets attention, as well as the all-important invites to big events. “He opens up a lot of doors for the team and the athletes on it,” explained O’Loughlin.

Targeting the FBD Rás O’Loughlinand O’Brien have been confirmed as part of the team’s five-man squad for the race which begins on Sunday week (May 17th) in Kilcullen, Co Kildare. The race is one of the few occasions the team gets to compete in Ireland and is therefore an important target. Last year things worked out very well, even if Mark Cassidy crashed out while leading the general classification; Stephen Gallagher seized the yellow jersey on the penultimate stage to Roundwood and triumphed overall, becoming the first Irishman in four years to win the FBD Rás.

This time round, it’s not certain if he will take part. He hasn’t raced much of late and team manager Kurt Bogaerts wants to ensure that the right selection is made. “Apart from David (O’Loughlin) and Paídi (O’Brien), we are still finalising what other Irish rider will be on the team,” he said. “It will be between Stephen, Ronan and Mark, but I need to speak to each of them and then decide. The aim is to go there with the strongest team possible, like we did last year.”

To that end, two Belgians will be included on the team. “Benny de Schrooder and Niko Eeckhout are both going very well and will ride the race. Benny knows the Rás from doing it last year, while Niko was very strong lately.”

The Irish sponsors and fans would love a repeat of last year, and Bogaerts said that this is the ultimate target. “I think if the situation turns out that Paídi or David can win the Rás, we will jump at that. We realise it is a very difficult race to win but we will do our best.”

The team will compete in the Tour of Belgium (May 27th-31st), the Irish and Belgian national championships in June and the Tour of Ireland in August.

The notion of team riders going to the top-ranked ProTour level is something that Bogaert and Kelly encourage. Rather than worrying about losing its talented riders the team is positioned as a squad to help Irish riders bridge across to the next level.

That has meant a conscious decision to remain with its current structure rather than expanding, said Kelly, who expressed concern earlier this year that Cycling Ireland was not putting enough resources into the next wave of riders such as Sam Bennett and Philip Lavery.

“The team structure is there to take young Irish riders after they come out of junior ranks and do their first year of senior, working with them for two or three years,” he stated. “That area is where we fell down in the past, many years ago after the careers of Roche and the rest of us. We had a lot of talented riders who went abroad to clubs, but just got a raw deal. They had not a plan or flow of races and they just go wiped out. Our aim is to make sure that the next guys have a chance to go as far as possible in the sport.”