Cycling Ireland had entered six riders for the elite road race at the World Road Championships in Italy next week but it has said only four will travel to Imola.
While six were entered, and a six-man Irish team for the road race was named in the official start list released by the UCI, that six-man team was provisional and it is now confirmed that team will be four-strong.
It is not unusual for Cycling Ireland to enter the maximum number of riders possible for the Worlds only for a smaller group, or even some different riders, to actually ride the race.
Cycling Ireland has now clarified that while Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) were among the six entered, they will not be on the team.
Bennett is in the Tour de France at present and looks certain to win the green jersey on Sunday in Paris but the Worlds course is for climbers and would not suit him.
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Dunbar fractured his collarbone last week and any hope he may be able to ride the Worlds was put to bed by Cycling Ireland confirming he would not be a member of the team.
Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb), Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Ryan Mullen (Trek Segafredo) and Ben Healy (Trinity Racing) will be the four-man team for the road race on Sunday week.
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The men’s road race will be contested over an arduous
258.2km featuring nine laps and 5,000m of climbing; a course not suited to
Bennett even in his current form.
And before that road race, Mullen and Roche will ride the
largely flat 31.7km TT at the Worlds; that world title test taking place next
Thursday.
There was no mention in Cycling Ireland’s announcement
today of a women’s team being sent to the Worlds for their road race or TT and
no women were named in the UCI start lists.
Cycling Ireland technical director and head coach, Brian
Nugent, said he was delighted the Worlds was taking place, even though they
were limited to elites and the juniors and U23s were not being catered for.
“Irish cycling is on a high with burgeoning numbers at a
participation level and inspiring performances by Irish riders at the Tour de
France in recent weeks,” Nugent said.
“We’re looking to bring that momentum into the World
Championships with a course that suits our climbers and a really good TT course
which our specialists will enjoy.
“We’re going into this one with confidence and are
relishing the opportunity to pull of the Irish kit after such an uncertain
period.”
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