@tamijo: Thanks a lot - they are a nice little addition to the early posts
@Abhishek: Thanks a lot man! Good to see you here!
@sutty: Topsport would be a great option, but Henri could be too young just yet
@Ian: Roubaix are the local option, but there are plenty of others showing interest
*****
Post #3 has been added to with another update - hoped to have this as the last one before the the racing begins, but looks like there might be one more
The season ended strongly for me, with a hard fought 2nd place finish in Brittany, before another victory in a race on the outskirts of Lille. The local races were a huge boost to me, and my performances matched it. The local races also got me the most amount of coverage and time in the limelight for the scouts to see.
The biggest, and most exciting call came from Topsport-Vlaanderen, who had heard good things from their scout out in the field. Whilst I was too young to join the team now, they wanted to track my progression over the next two years and see where I was at in my early 20s rather than my late teens. What they wanted to see though was me taking on various types of races, across different countries and testing what I can do in the Pro Peleton. It was sound advice from them.
A few weeks passed, I had joined up with both AnPost and Roubaix for a few days, and both had offers on the table. Decisions needed to be made, and I thought of what Topsport had said as well. With that, I pick up the phone and called the team I wanted to join. Two-year contract offered, view to being a Team Leader in the second season, and the chance to ride across Europe. I couldn’t turn it down...
I was now a member of An Post - Chain Reaction Cycling!
emre99's stages Thread of the Week : Tour of California 2014 -Official PCM World Cup 2016, 10th best keirin player in the world PCM.daily Awards : 2 Nominee 0 Award
Daily Song Contest WINNER! With Foals - Mountain at my Gates with Greece! 1 like 1 girlfriend ''I call you the stage god. You are the stage god.'' -baseballover312, 15.07.2016
Thanks guys for the comments and sorry for a lack of posts since my team reveal. Being part of the Daily DB team, I know that work is currently under way for the release of V2 of the 2016 EP and that is what I would like to use for the story.
This will continue when all is released and I have added Henri to the db
Signing for a team like AnPost - ChainReaction was a dream come true. A professional team, racing across Europe and led by the legend that is Sean Kelly! If I was going to be learning the ropes off someone, who else than a multiple Classics champion and a winner of a Grand Tour.
The squad was a mix of nationalities, and there was a really atmosphere amongst us all on the first team met up in Belgium. Just over the border from my home in Lille, so not too far to travel in the day.
Back home and out on the roads of Roubaix was amazing in the new colours. Only issue was that it got a little less recognition with other riders out on the different routes. I suppose a small Irish team would never be as well known the locals as my junior team. I was wanting to change that.
All the team issue kit and equipment was top notch. Being the talented Cobbles man, I was given their Classics bike to ride in training and get used to its feel. After all, it would be my ride for the year as I tackle the cobbles in the UK, Ireland and across Northern Europe.
I would find out my exact calendar at the team presentation and official meet up in a few weeks. I knew what I wanted to do in my head, and where I wanted to be to maximise my potential. To sum it now, it was cobbles, cobbles, cobbles... Dunkerque, Lincoln, Le Samyn - all of it. I wanted to test myself again the best in the peleton and have myself catching the eye of the Topsport bosses with some fine performances.
An Post - Chain Reaction Cycling 
!
