With the Olympic Games just four months away and the professional cycling season heating up, here’s the latest news on Ireland’s cyclists.
Sam Bennett finished Paris-Nice with two stage wins, adding to the two he won earlier this season at the UAE Tour. He also finished second in the points classification behind Primoz Roglic.
An untimely puncture in the last 20km cost Bennett his chance of winning the Milan-San Remo cycling classic in Italy on Sunday.
Nicholas Roche will ride the 100th edition of the Tour of Catalonia from the 22nd to 28th of March with Team DSM.
The team will primarily target stage wins with Roche, in his 17th season as a professional, taking on the road captaincy role.
Imogen Cotter has been signed by World Tour team Movistar as part of its new eRacing line-up. Cotter was 2nd at the 2019 Road National Championships and is among five female riders selected through the Movistar Talent ID programme.
Track Cycling / Para-cycling
The Irish Track and Para-cycling squads are in Mallorca at the Cycling Ireland Training Base (Velodrome Palma) as they continue their preparation for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Ireland will be represented in the Men’s and Women’s Madison (two men and two women) and the Men’s and Women’s Omnium events at the Olympics.
One male and one female athlete from the Madison eventis selected for the Omnium. While athletes have yet to be selected, the team is Ireland’s largest ever cycling team to qualify for an Olympic Games. Qualification is ongoing for the Paralympic Games.
Track squad member, Fintan Ryan suffered a broken clavicle while training in Gent with his UCI Continental team EvoProRacing.
Ryan was struck by a van just one day after making his professional road racing debut at Jean-Pierre Monseré (UCI 1.1) in Belgium. Ryan has returned to training following surgery.
Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the UCI regrets to announce that the first round of the 2021 Tissot UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in Newport, Wales from 22 to 25 April, has been cancelled at the request of the organisers.
The UCI is currently working to find an alternative solution to guarantee that the 2021 Tissot UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup takes place in the form established.
Off-Road/BMX/Virtual
Two Irish riders, Christopher McGlinchey and Matteo Cigala are ranked in the World’s Top 10 for eRacing on the Zwift platform.
McGlinchey represented Ireland at the first UCI eCycling World Championships and lies third in the rankings while former Italian junior international, Matteo Cigala is ranked ninth.
The Cycling Ireland eRacing Spring League continues on Saturday mornings with approximately 1,000 participating every week.
Oisin O’Callaghan continues his preparation for the UCI Downhill World Cup Series whichis due to open at Fort William on May 22/23.
O’Callaghan has set his sights on winning the UCI World Cup Series and retaining his Junior World Title. The Limerick teenager is coached by his father, Chris, and rides the Ballyhoura mountain bike trails.
Programmes/Organisation
Cycling Ireland launched a Training Hub that contains cycling-specific, live, and expert training sessions in yoga, Pilates, strength and conditioning and more.
Access is free for Cycling Ireland members and over 1,100 cyclists have completed more than 300 hours of live and on-demand workouts over the past three weeks.
