Mark McNally joins Belgian squad Wanty - Groupe Gobert for 2016
The 26-year-old becomes the latest Briton to move up to a UCI ProConti team
Merseysider Mark McNally will become the latest Brit to move to a UCI ProContinental team for 2016, as the 26-year-old will join Belgian squad Wanty - Groupe Gobert.
McNally will join Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka), Hugh Carthy (Caja Rural), Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18) and Dan McLay (Bretagne - Séché Environnement) in riding for a second division team next season.
Although he raced with Tour Series winners Madison-Genesis in 2015, McNally believes his previous five seasons with the Belgian-based An Post-Chain Reaction squad helped secure his move to Wanty.
“I’ve ridden a Belgian-heavy programme for a number of years, I know the races, I can speak the language,” McNally told Cycling Weekly.
“One of Wanty - Groupe Gobert’s managers contacted [Madison-Genesis DS] Roger Hammond – they were looking for a British rider, and he put me forward.
“I’m made up. The deal has taken a while to get sorted but it’s been worth it.”
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The Belgian squad have one of the strongest race programmes of any ProContinental team: in 2015, they raced the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, E3 Harelbeke, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Eneco Tour and Paris-Tours. An equally-strong schedule is expected in 2016.
McNally added: “I don’t know my exact schedule yet, but Wanty Groupe-Gobert go to some of the biggest races each year. Riding things like Flanders and Roubaix is something I’ve dreamt about since I was a kid.
“I don’t think that has dawned on me yet, but it probably will once I start working towards the start of the new season in training.”
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Having moved back to England following his switch to Madison, McNally and his Belgian girlfriend will head back to her native country in the coming weeks.
“I wouldn’t say I was resigned with racing at Conti level [the sport’s third division, in which both Madison and An Post operate] all my life,” he added.
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“I love bike racing, and I’m thankful that I can make a living out of it. The move to Madison was never a dead end – it gave me a chance to ride plenty of new races, and like [Adam] Blythe, it gave me the stepping stone to bigger things.
“It’s a great team – the set-up Roger and the company have in place is something special. I’ve loved riding for them. “
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Nick Bull is an NCTJ qualified journalist who has written for a range of titles, as well as being a freelance writer at Beat Media Group, which provides reports for the PA Media wire which is circulated to the likes of the BBC and Eurosport. His work at Cycling Weekly predominantly dealt with professional cycling, and he now holds a role as PR & Digital Manager at SweetSpot Group, which organises the Tour of Britain.