Dundrum cyclist Aidan Duff recorded the latest in a run of good performances this year when he finished 6th in the world-ranked Boucles de L’Artois race in France yesterday. The 25 year old led home a small group which finished 40 seconds behind winner Christophe Laurent, a teammate of Duff with the Super Sport 23 La Creuse team.
Duff, who was tipped for the top three years ago by Stephen Roche but then hampered by injury and illness, has built on last season’s return to form with a run of fine results this season. He recently placed 17th overall in the keenly-contested Tour Du Canton De Staint-Ciers, finishing 11th and 18 on stages and ending the event just 57 seconds behind overall winner Stéphane Froucher of the CG Orleans team.
Elsewhere in France, fellow Irish rider Tommy Evans followed up his excellent third place in the recent Archer GP by placing 11th in the La Trophee De La Ville de Cusset, part of the south-east Division 3 championship series. Evans is racing in France as part of the team Ireland initiative this year and has been their most consistent rider to date. He previously finished fifth in the La Durtorccha event, which was the first round of the series.
Meanwhile, two other Team Ireland riders were in action yesterday in the GP Des Coteaux D’Aix event. Michael McNena was 26th, 13 minutes and 32 seconds behind winner José Medina of the AVC Aix team, while Morgan Fox did not finish.
Filed by Shane Murray
