Scanlon gets back on the saddle

CYCLING: Following a three-week lay-off from racing due to a virus, former World Junior champion Mark Scanlon has resumed racing with his Ag2R Prévoyance team. Scanlon and fellow Irishman Philip Deignan are competing in the 2.HC Tour de Luxembourg, which runs until Sunday.

"Mark has been training hard and now just has to get race fit," his coach, Padraig Marrey, said yesterday. "He has been three weeks without competition so it will take him a bit of time to build up sharpness."

Scanlon was forced to miss last week's FBD Insurance Rás because of the virus.

Across the Atlantic, Irish duo Ciarán Power and David O'Loughlin will compete in the Wachovia US Pro Championships in Philadelphia this Sunday. The race is open to an international field, with the first US rider home crowned national champion.

As a result, the Navigators Insurance pair are likely to play a team role in the 156-mile event, which takes place on a tough course featuring 10 ascents of the gruelling Manayunk Wall.

"Both Ciarán and David are riding very well at the moment," reported Navigators team manger Ed Beamon yesterday.

"David was the catalyst for the winning break in the CSC Classic on Sunday, and Ciarán's form is getting better with every race. I am expecting both guys to ride in Philadelphia, and to be very instrumental in the team's plans for the day."

At home, Cycling Ireland (CI) announced this week that Tamara O'Driscoll will take up the new post of general manager within the federation.

Her appointment comes after the retirement of Stuart Hallam from the post of CEO earlier this year. O'Driscoll joins CI after six years in the sports industry in Britain, in which time she has worked with the English FA, Manchester United FC, BBC Sport and SportsAid.

She will oversee the day-to-day running of CI and fulfil a number of other crucial tasks, including policy implementation and acting as point of contact with sponsors, the Irish Sports Council and the media.

A number of events take place across Ireland this weekend. Road riders have the Dunboyne Three-Day, while many MTB competitors will line out in the Outsider Pog Challenge near Roundwood on Sunday.

The same day, a two-day fundraising cycle will start in Castlebar. Held in order to raise funds for the Junior Tour of Ireland, the leisure cycle will see riders cover 110 kilometres on Sunday and again on Monday as they travel to Carraroe and back.

For more information, contact Pat Dowd at 087 243940.

FIXTURES

Saturday-Monday: Dunboyne Three-Day, Dunboyne. Contact Alice Sherratt at 087 2929913.

Saturday: Leinster Youth Skills Championships, Dundalk. Starts noon. CU Youth Time Trial Championships, Portadown.

Sunday: Noel Teggart Memorial Race (Classic League 3), Banbridge. Leinster Youth Skills Championships, Drogheda. Starts noon. Cycling Ireland DH NPS 1, Connacht. Starts noon, contact Darren McGann at 087 2307821 for info. Sunday-Monday: Junior Tour fundraising cycle, Mayo/Galway. Monday: Ards Hill Climb, Newtownards. Starts 7pm.