THERE are still some important international engagements before the end of the season and Barry Twohig, Paul O'Callaghan and David O'Loughlin are Ireland's representatives in the World junior road race championship in Slovenia on Sunday.
Next week the national team director Alasdair MacLennan is to announce a team of six for the Hessen Rundfahrt Tour in Germany from September 16th to 22nd and five for the Tour of Hokkaido in Japan in the first week of October.
MacLennan, whose term expires at the end of the year, said he has not yet decided if he will seek an extension of his contract. He has held the post for seven years.
MacLennan is also to make a decision regarding participation in the World under 23 road race championship at Lugano on October 12th. Not many of those who have figured prominently in the top events during the season are eligible for that assignment and Irish performances in the European under 23 title race in the Isle of Man in June were not good, with Aidan Duff's 64th the best.
Declan Lonergan and Philip Collins have qualified for the points race and 4,000 metres pursuit at the world track championships in Manchester from August 28th to September 1st but they would need to improve on their Olympic efforts to challenge for respectable placings.
Junior squad manager Tony Allen leaves this morning for Lublana with Twohig, the winner of last week's Junior Tour, O'Loughlin, who was fourth and the junior champion O'Callaghan.
Their event is over seven laps of a fast undulating circuit of 18.2 kilometres which they will train on this evening. The line up, is limited to 200 and with positions on the starting grid decided by the world rankings the Irish trio will be towards the rear.
Because of the motor racing in the Phoenix Park the Jim McQuaid memorial races listed for Sunday have been postponed.
The Mid Eastern Region's road race championship is down for decision tomorrow morning (10.30) with the start and finish behind Dublin Airport and there will be four laps around the Nag's Head circuit for a total of 60 miles.
The St Finbarr's club in Cork are the promoters on Sunday of the championships for third category, veterans and women. They will be decided over the Whitechurch Mallow road circuit of just over 11 miles - signing on at the Whitechurch Community Centre.
The seniors do six laps starting at 1 p.m. and five minutes later the veterans set out for the same distance while the women tackle four laps at 1.10 pm.
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