Tomorrow Siobhan Dervan will put the jersey of her pro Fenixs team aside and instead don a green jersey, taking part in the Tour de l’Ardeche with the Ireland team. Dervan will join up with Siobhan Dervan, Olivia Dillon, national champion Heather Wilson, Michelle Geoghegan, Francine Meehan and Fiona Meade in the 2.2 event, which will feature some of the top professional riders in the world. It runs until Saturday.

The Corkwoman is looking forward to the event, particularly as it gives her a rare opportunity to line out alongside other Irish competitors. She’ll use it to prepare for her big season target.

“For me Ardeche is an opportunity to fine tune my form for the worlds - and to give advice to the other irish girls should they need it!” she told Irishcycling.com yesterday. “I just got confirmation for the worlds today so, as you can imagine, I am pleased and excited about the opportunity to race at this level again.

“I don't want to put too much pressure on myself for the worlds this year as I only have half a season’s racing/training behind me. That said, I would love to equal or better last years result.” [24th]

Dervan showed strong form in the recent Trophée d’Or, placing twelfth on two stages and fourteenth overall. That should build her confidence for the Ardeche race and Mendrisio. “I really enjoyed the event,” she said. “There was some good racing as Nicole Cooke and Emma Johansson were both there. It also gave me the opportunity to practice my bunch sprints and my climbing! My form was good, and overall I was pleased - as the race progressed I felt that I improved my bunch sprint so hopefully that bodes well for Ardeche.”

She returned to Ireland last week in order to recover after the race. She didn’t do the time trial championships. “I didn’t ride the TT as I really needed a break..I have done a lot of racing and travelling recently,” she explained.