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Last Updated: 4 Apr 2018 - 3:13:57 PM |
Irish Riders Compete in Philadelphia International Cycling Classic this Weekend
This weekend Cycling Ireland has a 5 person strong team competing in the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic UCI 1.1 event in the USA, taking place on Sunday the 5th June. The one day race is part of the USA Tour, with riders competing 178.2km covering nine laps of a 19.8km circuit.
With two significant climbs on the course, and plenty of primes, the race is guaranteed to be aggressive and fast. The team this weekend is made up of five riders who competed in last week’s An Post Rás; Eddie Dunbar, Damien Shaw, Daire Feeley, Ian Richardson and Eoin Morton. Michael O’Loughlin had been scheduled to start also, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. The race starts at 8am local time, or 1pm Irish time on Sunday 5th June.
The race distance will be perfect for the team, especially on the back of what has been a tremendous week of racing for Irish cyclists in the An Post Rás, with Dunbar and Morton winning individual stages, Richardson winning the county rider prize and Dunbar, Shaw and Feeley placing high in the overall GC.
Cycling Ireland’s Technical Director Brian Nugent believes the team is ready for a strong performance saying “I’ve just seen the guys off at the airport and there’s a really good team spirit among the squad. The morale is still high among these guys after a great An Post Rás, and I’m confident it will lift the team to a good performance in Philadelphia this week.”
This weekend Noel McGlynn will be managing the Irish Team in Philadelphia, and is expecting a good tough race; “I’m delighted to be bringing such a strong national team to tackle one of the U.S.’s most famous and prestigious professional races.
The gruelling 178km circuit, which includes 9 times up both the famous Manayank ‘Wall’ and Lemon Hill, will be an unforgiving challenge, but with our riders having had a fantastic An Post Rás they are super motivated. While not underestimating the challenge that competing in a UCI 1.1 race brings, I’m positive that the team will dig deep to bring back a top performance.”
This is the first time an Irish team will be competing in the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, with the UCI 1.1 category indicating that it is a one day event recognised by the UCI as an international event.
Irish Team
Riders:
Eddie Dunbar
Damien Shaw
Daire Feeley
Ian Richardson
Eoin Morton
Manager:
Noel McGlynn
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