An Post–Chain Reaction

An Post–Chain Reaction

Team information
UCI code	SKT
Registered	Merchtem, Flanders, Belgium
Founded	2006 (2006)
Discipline	Road
Status	UCI Continental
Bicycles	Vitus
Website	Team home page
Key personnel
General manager	Kurt Bogaerts
Team manager(s)	Niko Eeckhout[1]
Team name history
2006 2007 2008–2009 2010–2012 2013–	Sean Kelly ACLVB–M Donnelly Murphy & Gunn–Newlyn–M Donnelly–Sean Kelly An Post–M Donnelly–Grant Thornton–Sean Kelly An Post–Sean Kelly An Post–Chain Reaction
Jersey

An Post–Chain Reaction (UCI Team Code: SKT) is a UCI continental professional cycling team registered in the Republic of Ireland, based at the Sean Kelly Academy in Merchtem, Flanders. The team participates on the UCI Europe Tour. The squad is managed by Kurt Bogaerts and Sean Kelly with directeur sportif Andy Vanhoudt.

History

The team began in 2006 with the name Sean Kelly ACLVB–M Donnelly as the first Irish professional cycling team. Shortly after its launch another Irish continental team was launched, Murphy & Gunn–Newlyn. For the 2007 season, these two teams merged to form the Murphy & Gunn–Newlyn–M Donnelly–Sean Kelly squad.^[2][3] The team achieved several good results including second overall in the Rás Tailteann with Paídi O'Brien.^[4] At the end of 2007, it was announced that An Post would replace Murphy & Gunn as main sponsor while Grant Thornton replacing the Newlyn group as a co-sponsor.^[5] For the 2008 season, the team became more international with four Belgians, two Britons, one Swede and one German joining the six Irish riders.^[6] The team took its biggest win when Stephen Gallagher won the general classification of the Rás Tailteann.^[7] It has also taken overall victories in Vuelta a Extremadura (Daniel Lloyd), Tour des Pyrénées (Dan Fleeman), and Ronde de l'Oise (Steven Van Vooren).

The team began as an Irish-registered team, becoming Belgian-registered between 2010 and 2013, primarily to gain access to races in Belgium. The team became Irish-registered again in 2014.^[8]

UCI Europe Tour

The SKT team was UCI ranked 31st out of 125 teams at the end of the 2009 UCI Europe Tour season with 481 points. The team was ranked 46th out of 110 teams on the UCI Europe Tour rankings for 2010 with 314 points. It improved ranking to 21st out of 114 teams in 2011 with 648 points, with the team's highest points scorers being Mark McNally with 125 and Andrew Fenn, who scored 122. The team had their best ever season in 2012, finishing 16th out of 125 teams in the final rankings on 879 points. Gediminas Bagdonas was the team's highest points scorer with 346 points, a tally that was good enough to put him in tenth place in the individual standings. Niko Eeckhout contributed 187 points to the tally, while Kenneth Vanbilsen scored 131. In 2013 the team finished 28th overall with a total of 341 points.

Team roster

As of May 14, 2015.

Rider Date of birth  Sean Downey (IRL) (1990-07-10) 10 July 1990  Conor Dunne (IRL) (1992-01-22) 22 January 1992  Joshua Edmondson (GBR) (1992-07-06) 6 July 1992  Aaron Gate (NZL) (1990-11-26) 26 November 1990  Aidis Kruopis (LTU) (1986-10-26) 26 October 1986  Alexander Maes (BEL) (1993-06-20) 20 June 1993  Eoin McCarthy (IRL) (1993-09-21) 21 September 1993

Rider Date of birth  Xandro Meurisse (BEL) (1991-01-31) 31 January 1991  Ryan Mullen (IRL) (1994-08-07) 7 August 1994  Paulius Šiškevičius (LTU) (1993-09-07) 7 September 1993  Alistair Slater (GBR) (1993-02-11) 11 February 1993  Jordan Stannus (AUS) (1996-05-16) 16 May 1996  Jens Vandenbogaerde (BEL) (1992-01-06) 6 January 1992  Jack Wilson (IRL) (1993-08-10) 10 August 1993

Major results

National champions

2010

Ireland Road Race Matt Brammeier

2011

Lithuania Time Trial Gediminas Bagdonas

2012

Lithuania Road Race Gediminas Bagdonas

2013

Ireland U23 Road Race Jack Wilson

2014

Ireland Road Race Ryan Mullen

2015

Ireland Time Trial Ryan Mullen

Lithuania Road Race Aidis Kruopis

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to An Post-Sean Kelly.

• Official website