Breakthrough for Irish U23s as World Champs team qualification already guaranteed

Ryan's Mullen ride in the ZLM Tour in Holland last weekend has been a game-changer for the Ireland's big to qualify for the U23 road race at the World Road Championships in Spain in September.

With a key week in the season for the U23 Irish team just behind them, the latest nations' rankings published by the UCI reveal Ireland has already secured qualification for the U23 road race at the World Road Championships in Spain in September.

Ryan Mullen's 6th place in the ZLM Tour in Holland last Saturday has for the first time this season seen Ireland enter the Nations Cup rankings; a series of races in which riders compete on national teams rather than their trade teams.

And with Ireland also eligible to qualify for the Worlds via the UCI's U23 Europe Tour, the latest standings in those rankings also spell good news for the team.

Ireland is now ranked  12th in the Nations Cup on 10 points thanks to the points scored by Mullen riding on the national team last weekend.

Ireland is also 15th in the separate Europe Tour rankings on 11 points; with Mullen's points from last weekend also counting in the Europe Tour and other points gathered by Felix English riding for his Rapha Condor JLT squad this season adding to the tally.

Like any nation, Ireland is guaranteed two places for the U23 time trial at the Worlds.

Last year Mullen and Marcus Christie were selected to fill those places, with Mullen fairing best of the duo and coming home in 7th place, a remarkable result for a rider in his first year out of the juniors.

However, while places in the time trial are automatic, places in the road race must be earned by riders scoring points through the season.

Last year was one of transition for the U23 Irish national squad, with established names like Philip Lavery, Sam Bennett, Sean Downey and others having aged out and moved on to their first season at elite level.

Those younger riders who came in to fill their places, found the going harder than they might have hoped. As a result they failed to score the points needed to qualify Ireland any places in the U23 road race at the Worlds in Florence last September.

However, less than three months into the current season those riders are beginning to find their feet and Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the Worlds road race this year have already been realised.

Under the Europe Tour qualification avenue, those nations ranked 1st to 15th on the qualification cut off date in mid August will qualify a team of five for the U23 road race. Those ranked from 16th to 20th will have four starters and nations ranked from 21st to 27th will have three berths to fill.

It Ireland were to remain in its current spot of 15th in the Europe Tour, it would have a five-man team at the Worlds.

However, U23 riders can score points in the Europe Tour riding for their trade teams if they place in any race that has UCI status.

And with almost four months of racing left before the mid-August cut off date for qualifying for the Worlds, the Europe Tour will chance considerably. Irish riders would need to be at their very best to keep Ireland in those top 15 nations.

In the Nations Cup, the situation is less fluid. The UCI rules state that "if a nation features in the final classification of the Nations Cup" it can nominated six riders for the U23 road race at the Worlds, of which three can start.

The rule has been changed since last year. It no longer stipulates that a nation must reach a certain ranking in the final classification to qualify for the Worlds. Instead, simply featuring in the final classification at all is enough to secure three places.

The U23s failed to score any Nations Cup points at the U23 Tour of Flanders the weekend before last or Cote de Picardie in France on Wednesday of last week.

But Mullen's 6th in the ZLM Tour in Holland on Easter Saturday was enough to open Ireland's Nations Cup points account, which will see it feature in the competition's final classification and so secure three places at the Worlds U23 road race.

The only circumstance in which Ireland would not take those three places was if it were placed 20th or higher in the Europe Tour at the mid August cut of date, in which case it would qualify four or more berths for the U23 Worlds road race.

Nations Cup Ranking

Rank	Name	Points
1 (4)	FRANCE	37
2 (1)	BELGIUM	35
3 (7)	DENMARK	32
4 (3)	SWITZERLAND	29
5 (4)	NORWAY	26
6 (2)	NETHERLANDS	25
7 (11)	RUSSIA	Related News Lara Gillespie attacks Dolomite stage as Giro hits high mountains Video - Ireland's Meehan climbs with best on brutal Alpine terrain 22
8 (6)	AUSTRIA	17
9 (8)	GREAT   BRITAIN	13
10 (9)	SPAIN	11
11 (14)	UNITED   STATES	11
12 (-)	IRELAND	10
12 (10)	KAZAKHSTAN	10
14 (11)	LUXEMBOURG	9
15 (13)	GERMANY	8
16 (-)	POLAND	7
17 (14)	ITALY	3
18 (16)	AUSTRALIA	2

UCI U23 Europe Tour Nations' Rankings