As the Tour de France comes to a conclusion in Paris this weekend, the Tour of Ireland organisers have announced another two teams for the five day race that starts in Dublin Docklands on Wednesday, 27 August.
Spanish teams Karpin Galicia and UK-based Rapha Condor Recycling have confirmed their participation in the 2008 Tour.
The Karpin Galicia team was launched in 2007 after a number of top Spanish teams were disbanded.
The team races on the UCI European Tour but also received a wild card to ride the Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) last year. They are named after the autonomous community region of Galicia where the team was founded.
Alberto Fernandez Sainz is the experienced tour man of the Spanish team travelling to Ireland. The 26-year-old professional won the Bizkaiko Bira stage race in Spain last year and made it to the podium twice in the Vuelta a Zamora.
Alejandro Paleo has also tasted stage race success as a previous winner of the Volta á Coruña.
The team’s key wins this year include overall victories in the Presidential Tour of Turkey and Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. The team’s Director Sportif is former Vuelta a España winner Álvaro Pino.
Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk sits at the top of the table on the British Cycling national team rankings with a massive points lead this year.
Team captain Dean Downing’s early season form saw him winning the BC Premier Calendar Bike-Line Two-Day stage race and stage two of the FBD Insurance Rás when it finished in Claremorris.
Chris Newton followed Downing into the Rás record books when he won the following day’s stage three into Lisdoonvarna. Newton is a former double winner of the Rás (2003 & 2005) and solid member of the British track team with medals from the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
Downing and Newton are currently on GB team duty in the Sachsen International Tour of Saxony with team mates Ben Greenwood and Kristian House. Downing won the 242km stage two which finished in Frohburg on Thursday 24th July.
Graham Briggs has been the surprise package of the team this year, showing he can sprint to victory from a big bunch when he won two rounds of the British Cycling criterium series.
Briggs could be in contention for the An Post sprinter’s jersey if he can stay under the radar from riders like quadruple Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia), Julian Dean (Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30) and Mauro Richeze (CSF Group – Navigare).
The Rapha Condor Recycling team line up for the Tour of Ireland is expected to be revealed shortly.
The 900km Tour of Ireland cycle race starts from Grand Canal Square in the Dockland’s area of Dublin on Wednesday, 27 August when 112 riders will head out on a route across 12 counties toward the final destination of Cork city.
