Irish professional cyclist Ciarán Power has confirmed that his debut with the St. Quentin Oktos team will take place this Saturday. Power will line out as the team’s strongest rider in the world-ranked Tour du Haut Var in France, and disputes the Classic Haribo one day later. The 24 year old recently signed with the French outfit after the unexpected collapse of the Linda McCartney team last month. He had previously raced with St. Quentin in 1998 before they upgraded to the professional ranks.
Power has expressed satisfaction with his current level of fitness, but expects that it will take some weeks to find top form due to his recent lack of racing. "We had a training camp last weekend up in the St. Quentin region," said the 1998 FBD Milk Rás winner. "The spins were pretty short, just 3-4 hours in length but they were run off at a pretty high intensity. I felt good, I was as strong as anybody there so that was encouraging. Okay, I have missed a bit of time now (due to the McCartney collapse) but once I get back racing I think I will settle in after a couple of weeks." Power is aiming to get involved in an early breakaway in the weekend’s races. "Getting into an early move might be a good way to jump back in there and get going again," he said.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
