Cycling Ireland has said it was disappointed that the Irish team at the World Road Championships in Imola this week is a small one, adding while there were no women in the Irish line-up in Italy, other goals lay ahead for them.
In response to queries from stickybottle about the lack
of any women selected for the TT or road race at the Worlds, Cycling Ireland
set out its position.
“It's disappointing for Cycling Ireland that due to Covid-19 there is a small team this year and with the cancellation of junior and U23 events it further reduces opportunities to select riders - male and female,” it said.
“Last year (at the Worlds in Yorkshire - Ed) Lara Gillespie and Maeve Gallagher did so well in the junior races,” it said of the then top junior Irish riders, now U23s.
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“This year with Covid-19 there is added complexity with 'essential travel only' restrictions, health and safety, lack of international events to base selection off of and short notice of the World Championships taking place.
“For the World Road Championships only carded/funded or WorldTour riders are attending as it is deemed essential travel as part of their job,” Cycling Ireland added.
“All of our female athletes are carded/funded for track
cycling and there is an important event coming up in November, the European
Track Championships.
“Performances at this event will play a part in determining the level of funding they receive for 2021 and therefore it's important that athletes are not put at risk traveling to non-green list countries.”
Initially there were six men entered for the Worlds in
Imola; Nicolas Roche, Ryan Mullen, Ben Healy, Eddie Dunbar, Dan Martin and Sam
Bennett.
However, just three riders have made it to the
championships; Roche and Mullen for the TT and road race and Healy for the road
race only.
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Bennett was unlikely to ride as the hilly course did not suit him and after coming out of a hectic and successful Tour de France he is now recovering in Monaco where he lives.
Dunbar had to withdraw as he broke his collarbone in the recent Tirreno Adriatico and Martin decided against riding due to “team commitments”.
Cycling Ireland announced some time ago that due to
Covid-19 it would not be sending Irish U23 or junior teams abroad for the
remainder of the season.
It made that announcement before the junior and U23 TTs
and road races at the Worlds were cancelled by the UCI; that decision taken by
the world governing body due to the pandemic.
Furthermore, Cycling Ireland said some time ago the only elite riders who would be considered for selection for the road Europeans or Worlds were those who were carded - financially supported by Sport Ireland – or who were riding with WorldTour teams.
The six riders originally selected for Imola all met the Cycling Ireland criteria. They are the only Irish cyclists who meet the criteria and so all were provisionally selected.
Five of the six (Roche, Mullen, Martin, Bennett, Dunbar) are WorldTour riders and the only one selected who is not riding at that level, Ben Healy (20), is carded by Sport Ireland for road racing.
Indeed, while a total of 24 Irish cyclists are being financially supported, or carded, this year by Sport Ireland, Healy is the only cyclist in Ireland carded for road racing.
While there are a very large number of female Irish riders carded by Sport Ireland, all have that financial support for track racing or para-cycling; none for road.
That means that under the criteria set down by Cycling Ireland for selection for the road Worlds and Europeans this year, no female riders were ever eligible, with the national governing body pointing out the track Europeans were a crucial fixture this year.
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