The An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly Team has confirmed Damien Shaw will remain with the squad for the 2017 season. Shaw will be accompanied by fellow Irish riders Conor Hennebry, Matthew Teggart and Sean McKenna, who have all signed one year deals.
In his first year with the team, which competes at UCI Continental Level, Shaw achieved a fifth place finish in the An Post Rás and was also 5th in the Irish National Road Race Championships. The 32 year-old took a career break from firefighting to focus on cycling after achieving domestic success despite beginning racing just six years ago.
The Mullingar native commented on his delight in continuing his professional cycling career with the An Post team for the upcoming season: “I had a great time last year stepping up to the professional level. It was a huge opportunity for me to test myself away from Ireland and see where I was on the continental stage. I learned so much and I’m really excited for round two with the An Post Chain Reaction Team to put those learnings into action.”
Twenty year-old New Zealand rider, Regan Gough is also joining An Post Chain Reaction from Avanti Racing Team. Gough, who has had significant track cycling success, brings gold medals from the 2014 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships and the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the team pursuit. Gough was also part of the New Zealand men’s team pursuit at the 2016 Rio Olympics that finished fourth.
Also joining An Post Chain Reaction on one year deals are 22 year-old Polish cyclist, Premislav Kasperkiewicz who previously raced for Czech team, Klein Constantia. Britain’s Dan Gardner, formerly of Astellas Cycling Team brings valuable road racing experience whilst Track cyclist, Sean MacKinnon, who secured a bronze medal for Canada last year at the 2015 Pan American Games in the team pursuit adds speed and attacking skills to the team.
Team manager, Kurt Bogaerts believes the squad has a mix of experience and raw talent that will come together to form something great: “At the end of last season, we looked at what we wanted to work on, and have brought in riders who we believe can help address certain weaknesses we identified. Cycling is about working together and learning from each other. We have carefully selected all of our riders for 2017 based on their talent, as well as the energy they bring to the squad. It will be an exciting year – and I think people can expect some exciting results from us.”
The An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly team riders will come together later this year for their first training camp in Calpe, Spain before the start of the 2017 season.
Confirmed Signings for An Post Chain Reaction Sean Kelly Racing Team for 2017 Season
Matthew Teggart (IRL)
Sean McKenna (IRL)
Jacob Scott (GBR)
Massimo Vanderaerden (BEL)
Davy Gunst (NED)
Conor Hennebry (IRL)
Jonas Bokeloh (GER)
Mark Stewart (GBR)
Bas Tietema (NED)
Adam Jamieson (CAN)
Damien Shaw (IRL)
Regan Gough (NZL)
Premislav Kasperkiewicz (POL)
Sean MacKinnon (CAN)
Dan Gardner (GBR)
