First year Irish professional Mark Scanlon has continued his rapid progress up the world rankings and is now listed as 215th in the world in the new UCI points table.
The 22-year-old was back in 456th place three and a half weeks ago but since then has recorded some sensational results for a young rider, taking a stage win and placing fifth overall in the Tour of Denmark.
Scanlon then went on to finish an excellent sixth in the prestigious French semi-Classic, the GP Ouest France at Plouay, Brittany. He now has a total of 269 points, a mere 13 off a place in the top 200.
Ireland has not had a rider as highly ranked since the careers of Kelly and Roche a decade ago. Although currently fatigued from the volume of racing in recent weeks, Scanlon has now decided to extend his season until the world championships, which are taking place in early October in Hamilton, Canada. He is aiming to gain experience which will prove beneficial in future years.
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
