Irish riders Philip Lavery and Sam Bennett will be part of a five man An Post team which will race in an Olympic test event in London this Sunday.

The London – Surrey Cycle Classic (UCI 1.2) will see a quality field containing many of the world’s top riders take part. Both national and international sponsored teams will make up the 148 rider line up, including the An Post team who have been invited to take part.

The Irish pair will be joined by Andy Fenn, who will be racing on home turf, with Rás winner Gediminas Bagdonas and Belgian veteran Niko Eeckhout completing the side. The race starts in central London at 9am on Sunday, with the riders setting off on a gruelling 140 kilometre route which sees them take to the streets of London before heading out to the Surrey countryside. They then return to the city centre for a grandstand finish against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace.

The race has been designed to allow the Olympic Organising Committee to experiment crucial aspects of the cycling route and its operations, with less than a year until the main Olympic Games.

Team manager Kurt Bogaerts was delighted to accept the invite, although he maintained it will be a difficult race competing against some of the world’s best riders.

“There are twenty national teams taking part and a selected few sponsored teams, so we were delighted to get the invite. We will be facing a really high quality field of riders but I am sending a strong team and I hope we can do well.”

While Lavery and Bennett get ready for London, another Irishman in top form, Connor McConvey, will be competing in the Mi-Aout en Bretagne, a four day stage race in France which starts today (Thursday 11th). The Belfast rider didn’t take long to settle back into the An Post setup, as he took the Suir Valley 3 day race on his first outing back in the saddle. He followed this up by winning the Londerzeel race in Belgium last Sunday.

McConvey is joined in the team by Irish teammates Ronan McLaughlin and Mark Cassidy, while Pieter Ghyllebert, Kenny Terweduwe and Mark McNally complete a six man squad.

Bogaerts wasn’t expecting McConvey to be so competitive on his return and has welcomed his addition at this stage in the season.

“Connor has been superb since his comeback to the team. He is really motivated and I have been quietly surprised at how well he has done. Two wins in two races so far, so maybe he can make it three this weekend!”

“We have had a great season so far with a lot of wins and good results, so hopefully we can maintain that form until the end of the year. Everyone is in good shape so I don’t see why not” Bogaerts added.

An Post Sean Kelly team for London – Surrey Cycle Classic (1.2), Sunday 14th August

Philip Lavery (IRL)
Sam Bennett (IRL)
Niko Eeckhout (BEL)
Andrew Fenn (UK)
Gediminas Bagdonas (LTU)

An Post Sean Kelly team for Mi-Aout en Bretagne (2.2) 11th – 14th August

Connor McConvey (IRL)
Ronan McLaughlin (IRL)
Mark Cassidy (IRL)
Pieter Ghyllebert (BEL)
Kenny Terweduwe (BEL)
Mark McNally (UK)