Roche cleared to compete after fall in race

CYCLING:A MID-RACE crash which took Nicolas Roche out of Wednesday's Flèche Wallonne will not prevent the rider from starting Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Roche said yesterday that he will take part, with hospital scans on Wednesday evening revealing that he had fortunately avoided any fractures.

He and his first cousin Daniel Martin hit the deck during the tough Classic, scuppering both riders’ ambitions of playing a part in the outcome of the race. While Roche is still short of full fitness, Martin had specifically targeted the event, and was co-leader of the Garmin-Cervélo squad.

Martin’s participation in Sunday’s race remains to be finalised. He too avoided fractures and a decision will be made in consultation with the team’s medical staff.

Philip Deignan was the sole Irish finisher in Wednesday’s race, netting a very solid 23rd. The RadioShack rider crossed the line 28 seconds behind the runaway winner Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto), who blitzed the field on the steep ramp to the line, and who is clear favourite for Sunday.

Deignan’s performance is a welcome sign after a tough season last year. He too will race Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Roche had two periods of injury in the off-season. “It has definitely been the worst winter I have had, so it has been hard enough to try to get back into condition,” he said. “I’m definitely happy with the direction I am going in.” He hopes to be back in strong shape for the Tour de Romandie.

In other news, a strong Ukraine- ISD-Lampre Continental team has been confirmed for this year’s An Post Rás. Joining the six overseas squads already announced, it is expected to play a big part in determining the final outcome.

The provisional line-up includes Dmytro Grabovskyy, who showed strong ability as an amateur by winning the European Under-23 championships in 2005 and netting various European titles.

He has blown hot and cold since then, and so it remains to be seen if he will be part of the final section. Even if the team is missing the highly talented competitor, it includes many more strong riders. These include GP Sochi runner-up Oleksandr Sheydyk and Anatoliy Pakhtusov, who previously won a stage and finished third overall in the 2008 Giro della Valle d’Aosta.

The strong line-up will be further supplemented in the remaining month before the eight-day event starts.

Meanwhile, this weekend sees a number of important events taking place.

The Kerry Group Rás Mumhan leads the way with a tough route, including a summit finish atop Conor Pass tomorrow.

It will be keenly contested by many of the Irish riders targeting the An Post Rás.

The Tour of the North will also run from today until Monday, while the An Post Gorey three-day and the Rás Chonamara events will begin tomorrow.

Finally, Geraldine Gill leads the Trek Women’s Classic league after last Sunday’s race in Stamullen.

Fixtures: Today – Monday: Kerry Group Rás Mumhan, starts in Killorglin at 4pm; Tour of the North, starts Stormont at 6pm. Saturday – Monday: An Post Gorey Three Day, starts Blessington at noon; Rás Chonamara, starts Oughterard at 11am. Sunday: IVCA 80km DMS, starts 9.15 at Kentstown.