After 15 years on the staff at Cycling Ireland, Brian
Nugent’s departure is the end of an era on the coaching side of the sport on
the island.
Nugent has held the role of head coach and technical
director with the national governing body and covered road and track as part of
his duties.
His departure, which was announced by Cycling Ireland
this evening, will have come as a surprise to most in the cycling community,
especially with the Olympic Games just 7½ months away.
Cycling Ireland issued a statement announcing Nugent’s
departure, with Nugent also commenting in the statement and saying he felt the
time was right to move on to new challenges.
Cycling Ireland statement in full
After 15 years with Cycling Ireland, Brian Nugent has made the difficult decision to resign from his role as Head Coach and Technical Director. Nugent was Cycling Ireland’s longest-serving staff member, joining in 2006 in a development and coaching capacity. In 2013 he took on the Head Coach and Technical Director role and led a hugely successful high-performance programme for the past eight years.
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Charged with building upon Cycling Ireland’s Olympic and Paralympic successes, Nugent was successful in doubling the size of the team and qualifying Ireland’s largest cycling squad to compete in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. More recently, the Women’s Team Pursuit project has continued its rapid progression, consistently breaking Irish Records and finishing eight at the 2020 Track Cycling World Championships.
Nugent was nominated for the Philips Sports Manager of the Year Award on three occasions, the first of which came after Martyn Irvine won gold at the Track World Championships in 2013. During his tenure, Irish cyclists won numerous medals at Paralympic, World, and European levels across various disciplines. From humble beginnings, the high-performance program has developed into one of the most successful across the island of Ireland. Nugent has been instrumental in securing significant funding increases for high-performance cycling from Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland during that time.
Reflecting on his time at Cycling Ireland, Brian Nugent said: “Having spent a number of years leading a great team of athletes and staff, I believe it’s time for me to move on and pursue new challenges. I’ve enjoyed immensely being part of a team that achieved new levels of success year on year and finishing with a large number of athletes qualified to represent Cycling Ireland in the Tokyo Games this summer has been very rewarding.
“I am proud of the work we have done and the contribution I’ve made, laying strong foundations for the future. I look forward to the continued success that will no doubt follow on for Irish Cycling.”
Matt McKerrow, chief executive, commented: “Brian has been a tireless contributor to Cycling Ireland’s performance program, having overseen several medal-winning campaigns and athletes over a sustained period. I’m sure he will count the qualification of a record number of riders for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, along with the rainbow jersey winning performances of Mark Rohan and Martyn Irvine among his many achievements.”
Brian will remain in post for a further three months to ensure a successful transition out of this key role with a focus on providing continued support of Cycling Ireland’s carded and development athletes, including those who will represent Ireland in Tokyo in 2021. Cycling Ireland will begin a recruitment process imminently.
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