O'Loughlin must wait on formal Beijing qualification

CYCLING COLUMN: FOLLOWING HIS excellent sixth-place finish in the individual pursuit at the Manchester World Track championships, David O'Loughlin must wait several days before getting official confirmation of whether he has qualified for the Olympic Games.

The Mayo rider (29) smashed his personal best by 4.4 seconds, recording 4:10.91 en route to his high finish in Wednesday's race. It is the best performance by an Irish rider at this level, and if O'Loughlin can keep building, he will be a contender for medals in major competitions.

Cycling Ireland officials are quietly confident the ride will earn him a place in the individual pursuit in Beijing. The UCI are due to update their world rankings next Tuesday, and at that point it will be officially confirmed if O'Loughlin has indeed secured a place in the Olympics.

Right now, he's looking forward to a bit of time off.

"I'm taking a break," he said yesterday. "It has been a really busy winter, so I am looking forward to spending some time at home, doing some training on the road and not really travelling."

O'Loughlin is due to return to competition in the 1.2-ranked East Midlands International in England on April 27th. He will then ride two 1.1-ranked events before competing in the FBD Insurance Rás with his Pezula team.

In related news, the organisers of the Irish tour have confirmed the Bulgarian Nessebar team will take part this year. Georgi Georgiev, Spas Gyruov, Martin Grashev, Bogdan Stoychev and Stanislav Zaraliev will travel to Ireland prior to the May 18th start.

Georgiev (22) is the team captain, having finished sixth overall in the 2.2 Tour of Bulgaria. Gyruov and Grashev finished first and third in their 2007 national under-23 championship, while Stoychev is the national time-trial champion.

The team will prepare for the Irish race by riding a number of events in Belgium. The riders' stated targets in the Rás include a stage win, victory in the under-23 classification and a place among the top six teams.

The race will start in Navan on May 18th and feature stage finishes in Ballinamore, Claremorris, Lisdoonvarna, Tralee, Skibbereen, Clonmel, Roundwood and Skerries.

FIXTURES

SATURDAY: Christy McManus Memorial, Roundwood, 11am; Mooney Cup, Collooney, Co Sligo; Ciclisport GP, Coagh, noon.

SUNDAY: Waller Cup, Bohermeen (includes Women's National League), youth races 11am, main events 1pm; Ken O'Keeffe Memorial/Jim O'Leary race, White Church, Cork, 1pm; Markievicz Cup, Collooney, Co Sligo; Connacht MTB league, Clarinbridge Wood, 12.30pm; PJ Logan Cup, Tartlaghan Road, Ulster, 1.30pm.