Former world number one Sean Kelly has said that he hopes the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team is on the way to a very strong season, having already ridden aggressively in two very large early events.
Despite being the sole Continental team invited to the Tours of Qatar and Oman, its riders were constantly on the attack in the races. The team aimed to get a rider up the road each day, making sure the distinctive green jersey was seen in the coverage and that the organisers were aware that they were there and racing hard.
“I think we performed exceptionally well. The invitation to Qatar and Oman was already a big thing to get, as they are such high-quality race with some very strong teams,” he told VeloNation this week. “It was great to be invited, but it was also a bit scary because of the standard of the guys they were going to start racing against. Yet they performed exceptionally well…we had guys in the breaks all the time.
“I was over in Qatar for the race and I was surprised that they raced so strongly and aggressively there. After that, I was a little concerned about Oman because they had really raced very, very hard there. But that went well too, and they were again very aggressive.”
The Irish-sponsored, Belgian-registered squad had its launch this week in Tielt, near Brussells, and there its sixteen riders were presented to a large crowd in the aptly-named Hotel Shamrock. Switching effortlessly between Dutch and English, team manager Kurt Bogaerts and director Sean Kelly presented each rider, interviewing them briefly about their goals for the year.
The team was originally set up with the goal of nurturing Irish talent and there will be four riders from the country in 2011: Ronan McLaughlin and Mark Cassidy are remaining after several seasons with the team, and so too Philip Lavery, who was a stagiaire with the squad last autumn. Lavery has now signed a contract, as has Sam Bennett. He’s another talented 20 year old who hopes to make an impression this year.
Former Belgian champion and noted hardman Niko Eeckhout is returning for what will probably be his final season. Despite being 40 years of age, he remains a successful rider and helps guide the younger competitors on and off the bike.
Eeckhout won a stage in the Etiole de Besseges in 2010, also landing three other top-four placings, then went on to net seventh in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, second in the Ronde van het Groene Hart and eighth on a stage of the Three Days of De Panne.
He was building up nicely but was close to being paralysed when he crashed in April’s Grand Prix Pino Cerami, breaking vertebrae with the impact. He returned to racing in the Tour of Belgium and then took stage placings of first and third in the Ronde de l’Oise, but came back too fast; as a result, the rest of the season was quiet and required him to do a lot of off the bike work to get his body back into condition.
The Flandrian told VeloNation that he still feels the effects of the crash at times, but that it doesn’t stop him racing. His goal is to have a strong season, realising that it could be his final year of competition.
As usual, he’ll be targeting the upcoming Belgian semi-Classics, with the team confirmed as riding events such as Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, Vlammse Pijl, Nokere-Koerse, Dwars Door Vlaanderen, E3 Prijs and the Driedaagse De Panne over the next few weeks.
He is joined by another seven Belgians on the team, namely Maxim Debusschere, Bjorn Brems, Pieter Ghyllabert, Dries Hollanders, Kevin Claeys, Kess Heytens and Kenny Terweduwe. Mark McNally and former junior Paris-Roubaix winner Andy Fenn are the British signings, while the Lithuanians Darijus Dzervus and Gediminas Bagdonas are also on board and motivated.
Bogaerts is encouraged by the aggressive performances in Oman and Qatar and said that he expects a big season ahead. “This year I feel we have the perfect mix between youth and experience in the team. The first few races have given everyone confidence, so the plan is to stick to the same tactics – ride aggressively and be involved in the breaks - and then I am certain we will get a couple of big results soon.”
VeloNation will have more soon from the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly launch.