CYCLING: Downey joins professional team

His new side are a UCI Continental team with the backing of Irish Cycling legend Stephen Roche as team mentor and his signing marks another significant step in his promising career.

With a racing centre in Brittany, the team has a real international feel to it and has also announced the signing of French, British and New Zealand riders. A further Australian is also expected.

With their race calendar looking to be largely based in the UK and France, they are also hoping to attract invitations to some of the larger Asian races thanks to Team Manager, Breton Yann Dejan, managing a team there previously.

It may have been a quieter than normal start to the 2015 season for Banbridge CC’s Downey with his focus switching to ensuring he put the required effort into his school exams, but he still managed to claim some impressive results – most notably winning the best Under 23 Jersey in the International Tour of the North at Easter and a fantastic bronze medal at the National U23 Time Trial Championships.

His recent visit to the European Championships, his fist Elite Championships, would be a steep learning exercise but he still managed to break the Irish Team Pursuit record alongside team mates Felix English, Fintan Ryan and ex World Champion Martyn Irvine.

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