By Shane Stokes, IrishCycling.com
Navigators Insurance team manager Ed Beamon has announced the list of events that Irish riders David O'Loughlin and Ciarán Power will compete in, starting with the latter's participation in Nokere-Koerse in Belgium yesterday.
Power has six more days of competition this month, with the GP Rudy Dhaenens on Sunday and then the Settimana Ciclista Internazionale in Italy, which begins on Tuesday. He will be joined there by O'Loughlin, and then the two riders will line out in the Route Adelie de Vitre, the GP de la Ville de Rennes, Gent-Wevelgem and the Ronde Van Drenthe in early April. From there their paths diverge, with Power riding the Scheldepijs Vlaanderen in Belgium on April 13th and the GP de Denain in France one day later, while O'Loughlin will fly to the US and compete in the Tour de Georgia later in the month.
Form permitting, the two Irish riders have therefore several opportunities to shine. The team's participation in the ProTour Gent-Wevelgem is a good boost, while O'Loughlin will have a fine chance to measure his form in the Tour de Georgia. Lance Armstrong, Bobby Julich and several other top professionals will compete in the six day race.
