McCauley opts for uphill struggle

RICHIE McCAULEY of the Bray Coors team, a stage winner in the Tour of Malaysia last week is switching his attentions to mountain bike activity and if he achieves good enough results he could gain selection to accompany Martin Earley in the Olympic line up.

In the world mountain bike championships in Germany, Earley qualified Ireland for two places at Atlanta with Alastair Martin the most likely number two and Robin Seymour the other contender.

However, McCauley is going to Britain to contest the top mountain bike event there at Easter and over the following weeks he will compete in the World Cup races at Lisbon and in Belgium and Germany.

Good placings at any of those venues would put McCauley in the reckoning for Atlanta which would be a strange twist after he missed out on the road race participation because of a poor showing by himself and his four team mates in the world championship in Colombia.

Declan Lonergan returned to his Sacramento base after Malaysia but he will move to Boston in two weeks and then, in preparation for his Olympic challenge in the points race on the track he will travel to some of the World Cup events.

At Easter, Lonergan goes to Colombia, where the meeting is at Cali, which is at sea level, and after that he takes in the fixture at Havana.

The next international assignment for the roadmen will be the Girvan race in Scotland at Easter, and national team director Alasdair Maclennan will name the team of four next week. Next on the list is the Tour of the Vendee region followed by the Ruban Granitier in Brittany.

There is a varied programme of events over the weekend although there is nothing over 60 miles as promoters did not avail of the opportunity to stage any of the important fixtures - the first of the classic league races is not until March 31st at Carlow.

Tomorrow there are races at Bray and Bangor but in addition to the events listed in the fixtures handbook at three other venues - on Sunday there is another at Galway. And there is also an additional promotion on Monday.

The Mid Eastern Region league continues tomorrow (11.0) at Bray. It will be neutralised front the Bray Wheelers club room to Kilmacanogue and the course is then to Rathnew, Glenealy, Rathdrum, Laragh and Roundwood with the finish after 45 miles at the top of the Long Hill.

There will be the usual huge fields for Sunday's handicap race from outside Finglas to Drogheda and back, timed for 10 o'clock, and the other regular St Patrick's Day promotion at Downpatrick at noon.

The Carrig Cup is at Carrick on Suir (1.0) and the Thermo King Grand Prix starts outside Galway on the Tuam Road (2.0).

The only events in the list for Monday are the East Tyrone club's handicap at Moneymore and a hill climb at Tralee but Obelisk Wheelers have added their Denis Whelan memorial for all grades over the Navan Road Dunshaughlin circuit at Batterstown (11.0). The first fixture on the mountain bike calendar, listed for Laragh on Sunday, has been called off.

National champion Micheal Fitzgerald has got off to a good start with his new team in Paris, ACBB. After finishing fourth on his first outing in one of the French classics the Clonmel man had a win and he was fourth again last Sunday at Piquigny.

From an original breakaway group of 14 on Sunday there were 10 still together out in front at the end of the 165 kilometres and the Thilley brothers, Jean Claude and Jean Michel, were first and second with Benoit Le Grix also ahead of Fitzgerald at the line.

These efforts guarantee Fitzgerald his place in the ACCB squad for the important assignments to come and he hopes to avail of any opportunities that arise.