Ronan McLaughlin and Connor McConvey are the latest Irish riders to commit to the An Post Sean Kelly team, as manager Kurt Bogaerts announced they had both penned new one year deals.
Donegal man McLaughlin has been with the team since 2008 and although he didn’t have any major results in his own name, he was a key influence behind many of the team’s successes last year.
“Ronan has continually progressed since he joined the team four years ago. Last year was his best season yet; he put in some great teamwork for Gediminas Bagdonas’ two stage race wins, the An Post Rás and the Tour de L’Oise, as well as being part of the team which helped Mark McNally win the Mi-Aout en Bretagne in France.
“He’s a really good team rider and I’m looking forward to him progressing again next season.” Bogaerts said.
McConvey, who hails from Belfast, took a hiatus from the sport while riding for the side in 2010, although he was quickly snapped up again by Bogaerts once he declared a return to the saddle.
“With McConvey, once we took him back in August it was always about 2012. When he returned I just wanted to ease him back into competitive cycling and really make sure he was enjoying himself.
“He did well and it was a big bonus to see him win the Suir Valley 3 Day. He’s got his confidence back and he’s still very young, so he’s another I expect to push on next year.”
Bogaerts also announced the signing of two Belgian riders, Roy Jans and Stijn Ennekens.
“Roy is only 21 and has won a lot of junior races in Belgium. He wanted to finish his studies, which he has done, and he’s now committed to racing full time.”
“Stijn is a bit of a different signing as he’s making a comeback of sorts. He’s won a lot of races on the Belgium circuit, although he was never riding in a high quality team. He’ll have that now next season, so hopefully he will be another good addition.”
They won’t be the last signing's of the close season as Bogaerts says he is working hard to add more quality to the Continental outfit.
“I have some more riders that I would like to sign and a few that we are still negotiating about re-signing. It’s exciting times for us and because of last season’s results there are a lot of riders out there that want to be part of it.”
