They will form part of an eight man team which includes the Belgian duo of Pieter Ghyllebert and Kenneth Van Bilsen, Australian rider Scott Law, British rider Mark McNally and Lithuanian Gediminas Bagdonas.
It’s been a fruitful few weeks for the team with Niko Eeckhout claiming an excellent victory at the Schaal Sels (1.1) last Sunday and Bennett also posting some superb performances against top class opponents at the European Championships and the GP Stad Zottegem. With the Tour of Britain approaching in just over a week the Irish trio will all be hoping that a good outing in Leuven this weekend will be enough to cement a place in the British road race.
Team manager Kurt Bogaerts is pleased with recent results, while he admitted the recent performances have given the riders plenty of confidence.
“The team have been racing well recently and the results have been very positive. Sam has been close on a couple of occasions and this has been great for his confidence. I feel we are now beginning to see the best of him.”
“I think a top five result is achievable this Sunday, so that’s what we are aiming for. After the race I will think about picking my Tour of Britain team. All of the Irish guys have a chance of making the squad so it will be a difficult decision.”
Team for GP Jef Scherens (1.1) in Leuven
- Sam Bennett (IRL)
- Ronan McLaughlin (IRL)
- Sean Downey (IRL)
- Mark Christian (UK)
- Mark McNally (UK)
- Kenneth Van Bilsen (BEL)
- Pieter Ghyllebert (BEL)