Merger of teams gives young riders huge support

CYCLING:Year two. Some of Ireland's most promising riders were presented to the media yesterday at the launch of the Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn/M Donnelly Seán Kelly team in Milltown, Dublin. Seán Kelly and Stephen Roche were in attendance, along with the sponsors, managers, support staff, media and public.

As the name suggests, the squad is an amalgamation of the two teams launched last year. The Seán Kelly ACLVB M Donnelly team and the Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group squad were Ireland's first UCI Continental level teams and had some good successes, but it was decided to concentrate the talent and the resources by merging the two for 2007.

Thirteen riders are in the line-up, with the possibility of more being added. The eight Irishmen are national under-23 champion Páidí O'Brien, former national champion Morgan Fox, Paul Healion, John Dempsey, Simon Kelly, Tim Cassidy, Mark Cassidy and Stephen Gallagher. The team is completed by Belgians Christophe Beddegenoodts, Tim Meussen, Rieno Stofferis and Devi Vervaecke, plus the Dane Glenn Bak.

They will be based mainly at the Seán Kelly Cycling Academy in Merchtem, Belgium, with two amateur development/feeder teams attached. Team Murphy & Gunn/Newlyn will race in Ireland while the Kelly Academy Team will compete in Belgium.

The Continental team got their season off to a good start in the Tour of Qatar last week. Healion and Bak gained valuable television time by going clear in long-distance breakaways, while Stofferis finished eighth on the final stage. It was a very respectable showing against the ProTour teams in the race and the goal is to continue building strength and experience as the season progresses.

"This team is an extension of the Seán Kelly Academy, set up by Cycling Ireland to give young Irish cyclists a base from which to compete in Belgium," said former world number one Kelly, who will work with manager Kurt Bogaerts in running the squad.

"The pro team is the next step up from that and is designed to give young Irish riders a programme of top international races that they would otherwise not have had. They will compete at a much higher level than they can in Ireland and hopefully from here they can progress to a higher level again and maybe get on to a ProTour team in the future."

He welcomed the fact that Irish sponsors were willing to get involved. Roche did likewise, adding: "I think this team is a fantastic opportunity for young Irish cyclists. To have a team sponsored by Irish businesses and with Irish riders is something that myself and Seán could only imagine when we were racing."