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Cycling Ireland has said it is seeking guidance about club group rides and also racing as Ireland eases the restrictions put in place to help fight Covid19.
The first set of lock-down measures was introduced two
months ago and up until earlier this week exercise was only permitted within a
2km radius of a person’s home.
That exercise zone was increased to 5km from last
Tuesday, meaning cyclists are still restricted in where they can ride. And they
can only cycle with another person if they share a house with that person.
The Government has issued a five-phase plan for emerging
from the restrictions and from June 18th some sports will resume in limited format,
including golf and tennis.
However, as the
national governing body of the sport north and south, Cycling Ireland is now
seeking guidance on a range of issues that relate to the sport as the phases to
emerged from the lock-down continue.
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Cycling Ireland welcomed the fact the Government had
published a road map of plans last Friday, May 1st.
“We are pleased
cycling remains both a priority sport and means of transportation for government
and health officials,” the federation said in a statement today.
“We feel strongly
that cycling will play an important role in Ireland’s recovery - positively
impacting people's physical and mental health and providing a safe, socially
distanced, and environmentally friendly means of recreation and transportation.”
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It added the
expansion of the exercise zone from 2km to 5km, until June 8th at the earliest,
was welcome for leisure and racing cyclists even though regular cycling activities
were still restricted.
“Cycling Ireland
will seek clarifications to several issues which have arisen during internal
discussions on the phased return of activities,” it said.
“In particular,
these relate to implementing social distancing guidelines on club training
rides, races, and leisure sportives, while ensuring cyclists remain safe on the
roads.
“With consideration given to the ‘roadmap for reopening society and business’ and the need to give athletes adequate time to prepare for competition, all national championship events up to July 20th will not be able to take place as planned.
“We will continue
to monitor the evolving situation and look to provide further guidance to
clubs, members, and event organisers as soon as possible.
“We envisage this
may include tailored guidance for different disciplines based on the
feasibility of adhering to government guidelines and social distancing
requirements.
“In the meantime,
we respectfully ask that until further notice, members of the cycling community
ride solo or with members of their household and adhere to the limit of 5km
from home for those within the Republic of Ireland.
“Within Northern
Ireland, restrictions remain unchanged with cyclists permitted to exercise
outdoors once per day.”
Cycling Ireland added cyclists could still race in the federation's Zwift League as well as the Women’s Only League and other virtual offerings.
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