Irish neo-pro David McCann yesterday showed further signs that he is settling into life in the paid ranks when he rode strongly to finish alongside established professionals in the highly ranked Tour de Berne in Switzerland. McCann crossed the line in 28th position, as part of the main bunch, which came home 3 minutes and 25 seconds behind winner Danilo Hondo of the Deutsche Telecom team.
The Belfastman’s group was led home by 1999 Paris-Roubaix winner Adriano Baffi, who was 19th, with Tour of Italy stage winner David McKenzie next in line. McCann was 10th in the bunch sprint and finished ahead of riders of the calibre of 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich and team-mate Kevin Livingston. The Irish road race champion made his professional debut earlier this season, after a strong 2000 season which saw him finish 43rd in the Olympic road race. Yesterday’s performance shows that he is once again mixing well with the world’s top riders, prompting expectations that his improving form will result in a strong challenge in the forthcoming FBD Milk Rás, and hopes that he will go on to record some high finishes in professional races before the end of the season. McCann is racing this year with the modest CCC Mat squad but a strong showing should enable him to graduate to a higher-ranked team.
Meanwhile, Team Ireland rider Tommy Evans yesterday continued his strong run this year when he won the two-day Criterium Varois national race in France. Evans placed 3rd in the opening prologue on Saturday and then got clear with team-mate Michael McNena and two others on the following road stage, where they placed 2nd and 4th respectively. The former FBD Milk Rás champion went into yesterday’s final stage two seconds off the race lead but took over at the top when the yellow jersey crashed. He then consolidated his position by breaking clear in a small group and finishing a fine third on the stage. McNena finished 23rd overall. Evans will join McCann on the five-man Irish team in the FBD Milk Rás, which starts in Navan on May 20th.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
