Four young Irish riders are set to make their pro debuts with the UCI Continental team EvoPro Racing this weekend, when the squad takes on two races in France and Belgium.
On Saturday in France the team rides Classic l’Oire Atlantique (UCI 1.1) near Nantes. The field includes World Tour teams AG2R Citroën, Groupama-FDJ and Cofidis. The EvoPro team for that 183km race includes an Irish quartet – Conn McDunphy, Liam Curley, JB Murphy and Cian Keogh. They will race with British rider Rhys Britton, Belgian Maarten Verheyen and Frenchman Dylan Guinet
McDunphy (25), the former elite Irish TT champion, rode for EvoPro last year and Murphy (22) made his debut for the team in the Netherlands last week. However, Saturday’s race will be the first time Curley and Keogh have raced at this level and the first time they have raced for EvoPro.
Curley (22) was one of the riders of the season in Ireland last year when his wins included the final stage and yellow jersey at the Newcastle West Stage Race. He also rode for the Irish U23 team at Tour de l’Avenir last year. Just last weekend he won the Seamus Kennedy Memorial in Co Meath riding for Technical University Dublin, where he is on a cycling scholarship.
Keogh (22) has built a reputation as a strong campaigner on both road and track and made his debut for Ireland on the road at L’Etoile d’Or (2.Ncup) last year. He has won national titles on the track and also competed for Ireland at the U23 European Track Championships last season.
On Sunday another EvoPro Racing selection takes on GP Claude Criquellion in Belgium. The team is compromised of Irish riders Daire Feeley, Tom Moriarty, Mitchell McLaughlin and Sean Nolan as well as Belgian Michael Van Staeyen and American Eamon Lucas.
Feeley (25) is back with the Irish team after last racing with them in 2019 while Nolan (20) is now in his third year with EvoPro. However, Sunday’s race in Belgium will be the first time Moriarty and McLaughlin have raced at such a high level, during what will also be their debut outing with EvoPro.
Moriarty is a former junior international and won the Irish junior road race title in 2019. Still aged just 19-years-old, this weekend’s assignment –
186.9km in Lessines – will be a big step up for such a young rider, but also a great learning experience.
Likewise, McLaughlin has not raced at this level before. Though he spent last season in the ranks of British UCI Continental team SwiftCarbon Pro Cyclingthe pandemic meant his opportunities to race internationally were effectively wiped out, making Sunday a big day for him.
This weekend of racing also comes after an uncertain and eventful couple of months for the team as it prepared for what is its fourth season in the pro peloton in Europe.
While Cycling Ireland had intended to support an academy of five emerging riders this year within the team, that proposal unraveled. A dispute emerged within the federation about how the deal was arrived at last December and the level of information shared about it before it was announced.
A review of the deal commissioned by Cycling Ireland also raised governance concerns, which were denied by EvoPro Racing. It was decided by the national federation last month the proposed arrangement would not go ahead. However, the team is continuing and has launched a GoFundMe campaign in a bid to raise funds for the season ahead.
