Latest diagnosis gives Power some hope

CYCLING: Dogged by an injury problem ever since he finished 13th in the Olympic road race 16 months ago, Navigators Insurance rider Ciarán Power is hoping to finally resolve the matter when he goes under the knife early in the New Year.

The 29-year-old has had trouble with his left leg since Athens, with the injury flaring up under the intensive efforts of racing.

He has consequently been unable to build upon that career-best ride, and missed several big events this season.

Power's frustration has been compounded by the difficulty in getting the problem diagnosed properly. Consultation with doctors and specialists had led him to believe that it was firstly a leg issue, then a back problem and finally a potential blood-flow problem. But he now believes that the correct source has been identified.

"Over the winter I have been up and down to the Mater hospital (in Dublin) trying to find out what is wrong with me," he said. "We had thought it was blood-flow problem, but it turns out not to be that. I got some nerve conduction studies done and that showed that my obturator nerve is trapped."

Power was unable to find a specialist in Ireland, but some research helped him to come up with an alternative.

"I did a lot of searching around on the internet, and have now found a doctor in London. He is likely to see me in the second week in January and should be able to do the surgery then.

"The operation is a rare one. It has never been done in Ireland and I think there has only been one done in England. But this particular doctor has worked in Australia alongside two others, dealing with over 150 cases. So he is well up-to-date with it."

Providing the operation is a success, the Irishman is aiming to be back racing in 2006. In the past, he finished fifth and sixth in bunch sprint finishes in the Giro d'Italia - he rode it as a first year pro in 2000 - and mixed it with the world's best in the Olympics.

He's hoping to build on those results next season, and has identified April's Tour of Georgia as one of his big goals.

Meanwhile, Power's Navigators Insurance team-mate David O'Loughlin showed he is in good condition with an impressive ride in the Rás an Turcaí in Carraroe on Wednesday.

The Irish road race champion was part of the scratch group which started nine minutes behind some of the riders in the 40-kilometre handicap event.

O'Loughlin mounted a furious chase of race leader Philip Cassidy, who had started four and a half minutes ahead, joining forces with Páidí O'Brien in trying to get back on terms.

The gap fell steadily but the duo ran out of time, with Cassidy reaching the line several seconds clear. A frustrated O'Loughlin sat up inside the final kilometre, finishing eighth, while O'Brien outsprinted former world number one Sean Kelly for second.

The Navigators rider is expected to make his season debut in the Tour Down Under in Australia, which starts on January 17th.

Finally, Lance Armstrong has been named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth consecutive time, becoming the first athlete to do so since the award was introduced in 1931.

Armstrong's record-extending seventh straight Tour de France win saw him take 30 of the 83 votes cast. Second place went to Reggie Bush, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back landing 23 votes, while the Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning scored eight votes for third. Roger Federer (tennis) and Tiger Woods (golf) were equal fourth with seven votes each.

Testicular cancer survivor Armstrong retired immediately after winning the Tour last July, having gone two victories better than the previous record of five shared by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.

He also had the rare distinction of retiring as an undefeated Tour de France champion.