Ciara Doogan has won the Cycling Ireland road and TT junior titles for the past two seasons. This year's events have been brought forward and the female road race and TT will now be run on the same day (Photo: DC Images)
Cycling Ireland announces changes to Junior Champs
The National Junior Road Championships female races have been rescheduled to avoid clashing with Rás na mBan.
Cycling Ireland has announced the championships, which were to take place during the second weekend in September, have been brought forward.
The male road race and TT championships will still take place on the weekend of September 9th and 10th.
They are being run, by Carn Wheelers, in conjunction with the Masters TT championships and A3 road race championships.
The male junior TT takes place on Saturday. And the road race is being run the following day, as per the traditional schedule.
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However, while the junior women’s TT and road race were also set to take place over that weekend, a clash with An Post Rás na mBan has seen their races brought forward.
They will now take place two weeks earlier than had been planned.
And they will be run in conjunction with the youth road championships set for the last weekend in August.
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“Due to a clash with Rás na mBan, the junior women’s road and TT championships have been moved to Carlow on Saturday, August 26th,” said Cycling Ireland.
“This will be run in conjunction with the National Youth Championships in Carlow on the same date.
“The TT will be in the morning from 9am and the road race will be held in the afternoon, from 2.30pm. The junior women (will ride) the same courses as U16 boys and girls.”
News the women’s races have been rescheduled at short notice comes as Cycling Ireland is reviewing the elite women’s road race this year.
In Wexford in June the women’s national championships road race was forced to stop on the last lap to allow the men’s race to pass.
The organisers said the women’s race was slower than anyone could have expected.
And they also pointed out the three Masters road races had been run simultaneously on the same course the previous day without incident.
A number of prominent women on the Irish road race scene made their protests known. They wrote an open letter to Cycling Ireland calling for reform.
National road champion Lydia Boylan was one of those who signed the letter. She was joined by Rás na mBan race director Valerie Considine.
And Orla Hendron, who is responsible for Youth Development on Cycling Ireland’s women’s commission, completed the trio of authors of the letter.
Cycling Ireland agreed to review what had happened and also to examine how the elite championships are run each year.
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