Team of Five Set for Course de la Paix
Cycling Ireland can today publish the team of five set to race in this year’s Course de la Paix in Czechia, from May 7th to 10th. This year’s race will again feature four stages in what is the 54th edition of the race, with Terezín in the north-west of the country the host town.
Despite initially entering a team of six for the race, late injuries have resulted in the team being reduced to five riders.
Performance Pathway Programme rider James Logue makes his debut on the road for Ireland, having recently made his track debut in green. The Carrick Wheelers rider has made a splash already this year with several strong performances at National Grade level.
Kilcullen rider Fionn Killeen also makes his national team debut in Czechia. Killeen showcased his potential winning the National CX Championships and has subsequently re-inforced his ability on the road with recent strong performances taking top-10 finishes in the General Classification at both Rás Mhaigh Eo and Dornan Rás Mumhan. He’s a rider that can thrive in tough conditions.
Shane O’Brien will make his Ireland debut in Czechia. The Fermoy native has made the move to Cams Majaco for 2026, and has hit the ground running this year, taking two podiums in National Single Grade races already, and gaining valuable race exposure & experience racing abroad with his team
Having ridden in the road and mountain bike events at last summer’s European Youth Olympic Festival in North Macedonia, Course de la Paix will be Caleb McGreevy’s first outing with a national team in this context. McGreevy has looked strong in the early part of this season domestically and also abroad with his road team U19 Academy Region Sud while also securing some strong results in recent UCI MTB XCO events.
Dubliner George Sevastopulo will also make the trip. Sevastopulo has previously ridden for Ireland on the track, but Course de la Paix will also be his first time in an Irish kit on the road. Despite coming from a more track focused background, riding with Sundrive Track Team, Sevastopulo is no stranger to road racing, taking multiple top-10 finishes already this year.
Irish riders have enjoyed some good success at the Course de la Paix in the last two years, with Conor Murphy taking a stage win last year and Seth Dunwoody winning a stage in 2024 alongside taking the overall team classification win.
Coach Martyn Irvine is looking forward to the race, saying; “Course de la Paix offers Junior riders exposure to a high level of racing over multiple days and varied terrain, including a TT. We have a team full of riders making their road debut in a green jersey. It will be this group’s first time riding together as a National team and the race provides a valuable learning, over consecutive days racing, on how to ride cohesively as a unit under the guidance of experienced staff. It is an ideal race for these guys to learn & develop. All of the selected riders have showed promise road racing this Season to date and each raced Rás Mumhan which has added some depth and enhanced their readiness to step up to this level of International Junior UCI race. I’m looking forward to to seeing how they perform as part of a national team.”
The race is a chance for Irish riders to test themselves against some of the best riders in their age group from across the world, with previous winners including Remco Evenpoel, Mads Pedersen, Michal Kwiatkowski and Fabian Cancellara.