Following on from his win at the Irish Elite Men’s National Road Race Championships, Conor Dunne has revealed his national champion’s jersey which he will wear for the next 12 months.
Designed by Aqua Blue Sport in collaboration with Cycling Ireland, the jersey has been manufactured by team kit partners Vermarc Sport of Belgium. It is predominantly white with a green band across the chest and back with a shamrock detail on the green band. The jersey also features the gold chevron of Aqua Blue Sport.
On the sleeves, the jersey features a green, white and gold tricolour band in a double nod to the Irish national flag and to the Aqua Blue Sport team colours, a detail which is duplicated on the cuff of Dunne’s matching bib shorts. The Irish tricolour is also found – as it is on all Aqua Blue Sport jerseys – on the inside collar. On the rear of the jersey, Dunne’s name is emblazoned in green across the shoulders, in keeping with standard team edition kit.
Dunne, who soloed to victory in the Elite Men’s competition held in Coolaney, Sligo on July 1, will wear the jersey and matching kit in competition and training for the remainder of 2018 and the first half of 2019, honouring the entitlement of a national cycling champion.
For now, his priority is a return to competition and a renewed focus on racing goals for the remainder of the season.
“It would obviously be super special to win in this jersey and I will be pushing myself that little bit harder to try to achieve that,” he said. “This period has been good for getting a little bit of continuity back in my training – getting out every day and getting quality work done.
“Now it’s time to push on for the remainder of the year and focus on getting some good performances. I want to represent this jersey and the Irish colours to the best of my ability and to do them proud. It’s an added boost for me to have this jersey on my back and I want to keep doing what I am doing – being aggressive in races.
“I want to be prominent – whether that be in the breakaway, helping my teammates or getting in the mix in the finale of a race and going for the win. That’s the plan for the rest of the year and I’ll be doing my best to focus on that.
“I’m really enjoying my cycling at the moment, relishing the role I have to play for this team and it’s a great time for me to be on my bike.”
