Mark Scanlon (born 10 October 1980 in Cranmore,

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who was the first Irishman to ride in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

since 1993. He also competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Amateur career

Scanlon came to prominence when he won the junior race at the 1998 world road race championship, on his 18th birthday. After winning the world championships, Scanlon signed for the Rabobank cycling team's development squad. He failed to break through because of injuries and he left in 2000. He joined CC Etupes in France and rode lesser French races. Linda McCartney Racing Team offered him a contract in 2001 but folded before he joined them. Scanlon continued to ride in France with VC Nantes 44 and then VC La Pomme Marseille. In 2002 he won the Irish road championship.

Professional career

Scanlon signed for

AG2R Prévoyance A&G, AG, Ag or ag may refer to Businesses and organizations * A&G Railroad (former reporting mark AG) * Action Group (Nigeria), a political party during the Nigerian First Republic * Aktiengesellschaft, a German type of corporation * Assemblie ...

for 2003. He won a stage of that year's

Tour of Denmark Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Pos ...

, leading the race for three days. He won the Irish championship again. In 2004 Scanlon became the first Irishman in the

since

Stephen Roche Stephen Roche (; born 28 November 1959) is an Irish former professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming the second of only two cyclists to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de Fr ...

in 1993. He also represented Ireland in the

in the road race on the opening day of the Games. Scanlon was injured for much of 2005 and 2006 but rode the

2006 Giro d'Italia The 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in the Belgian city of Seraing with a individual time trial. The race came to a close with a mass-start road stage that stretched from ...

. He left the AG2R Prévoyance team at the end of 2006, disillusioned with the amount of racing required in the

ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, ea ...

. At the start of 2007, he rode for the Toyota-United team in the USA. In 2007 there were reports he had retired. Scanlon denied them, saying he would like to captain a third division Irish continental team but for the time being, he had taken a "step back from professional cycling."

Major results

;1997 : 2nd Overall Junior Tour of Ireland ::1st Stages 8 & 9 ;1998 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Road race, UCI World Junior Road Championships : 1st MaillotIrlanda

Road race, National Junior Road Championships : 1st Overall Junior Tour of Ireland ::1st Stages 1, 8 & 9 : 1st Circuit Het Volk juniors ;1999 : 2nd Overall

Tour of Ulster The Tour of Ulster is a road bicycle racing stage race held around the Irish province of Ulster, divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was first run in 1956. It is rated as a National Event on the Union Cycliste Inte ...

: 3rd Road race, National Road Championships ;2000 : 1st Overall Belfast–Dublin–Belfast ::1st Stages 1 & 2 :

Tour de Hokkaido The Tour de Hokkaido is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Hokkaido, Japan since 1987 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It is rated by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category race. The event for 2018 was ...

::1st Stages 1 & 6 ::1st Points classification : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships ;2001 : 1st Stage 4 FBD Milk Rás : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships ;2002 : 1st MaillotIrlanda

Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd

Grand Prix d'Isbergues Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

: 10th

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships ;2003 : 1st MaillotIrlanda

Road race, National Road Championships : 5th Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostN ...

::1st Stage 1 : 6th GP Ouest–France ;2004 : 1st Ühispanga Tartu GP : 1st E.O.S GP de Tallinn : 2nd

GP de Denain Grand Prix de Denain is a professional cycle road race held in Denain, France. For 10 years from 2005 the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before becoming a 1.HC event for the 2016 season. It is also part of the French R ...

: 4th

Trophée des Grimpeurs The Trophée des Grimpeurs, called Polymultipliée until 1970, was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Val-d'Oise, France, between Argenteuil and Sannois. Between 1980 and 2002 it was a criterium. Since 2005, th ...

;2005 : 1st Stage 4 Circuit des Ardennes : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall

Tour de la Somme The Grand Prix de la Somme (formerly the Tour de la Somme) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May in Somme, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It a ...

: 3rd

Tour du Doubs The Tour du Doubs is a single-day road bicycle race, currently held annually in September in the region of Doubs, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour and since 2010 it is part of the French Road Cycli ...

;2006 : 5th

Le Samyn Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held usually in late February or early March. The event was created in 1968 as ''Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc'', named after the former municipality where it started and finished. In 1 ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

Interview in Cyclingnews 2003Interview in Cyclingnews 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlon, Mark 1980 births Living people Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Irish male cyclists Olympic cyclists of Ireland People educated at Summerhill College Sportspeople from County Sligo