CYCLING: The Irish Mountain-bike team will this weekend continue their campaign to amass the world ranking points necessary to ensure Olympic qualification when they line out in the Swisspower Cup E2 race.
Robin Seymour, Tarja Owens and Jenny McCauley have taken UCI points in each of the races they have contested, while Glen Kinning and Richie McCauley will be aiming to get their scoring under way after missing out in the early events. The riders must score well throughout the season to push their ranking to the level necessary to gain qualification for Athens 2004.
Meanwhile, with his confidence boosted by his fine sixth place on the recent third stage of the 2.3-ranked Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale, Navigator's professional Ciarán Power will be hoping to repeat his strong ride of 12 months ago when he lines out in the GP Ville de Rennes on Sunday. Power sprinted home an excellent fourth last year in the 1.3-ranked race, and will hope to capitalise on his improving form.
Power and his US-based team will be chasing the results in European races over the next two weeks. Following Rennes, the team will head to Belgium for Gent-Wevelgem and the GP Pino Cerami next Wednesday and Thursday, and then on to the Netherlands for the Ronde van Drenthe and the Ronde van Noorde next weekend.
David O'Loughlin was in fine form last Sunday when the Ofoto Lombardi professional took his first victory in a world-ranked event. O'Loughlin rode with great confidence to win the 118-mile Archer Grand Prix in Buckinghamshire, outsprinting world track points champion Chris Newton and former British champion John Tanner.
Also topping the podium abroad was French-based amateur Tommy Evans who won the opening stage of the Tour du Canton de Saint-Ciers. He finished a fine fifth overall.
At home, the organisers of the Rás Mumhan have confirmed a strong field for this month's race, with over 125 entries to date. Squads participating include Dutch and Welsh teams, plus the British Life Repair/Lite Speed team of defending champion Kevin Dawson.
The Mountain Bike Commission will be running a commissare's training course shortly, plus a MTB forum on April 15th. All interested can contact Cycling Ireland at 01 8551522.
Finally, the Intervarsity Championships scheduled to take place this weekend in Ulster have been cancelled due to lack of entries. Also off is the Rás Lumini in Caherconlish.
Entries for the Shay Elliot Memorial race close on April 7th.
FIXTURES: Today: Harry Reynolds Memorial, Balbriggan: Starts 6 p.m. Underage racing cancelled. Mooney Trophy, Collooney, Sligo. Starts 2 p.m. Tomorrow: Ben McKenna Memorial, Balbriggan. Starts 11 a.m. Underage cancelled. Markievicz Cup, Collooney, Sligo. Starts 2 p.m. Underage racing starts noon. Crowley Cup, Killarney. Starts 11.30 a.m. No underage racing.
