Con Collis, left, and Eoin Morton, right, will travel to the US in March as part of the 'Dublin Thunder' track team to race in a new - and lucrative - two-day event known as the World Cycling League.
By Brian Canty
Ireland will be one of just two nations outside of the US to be represented at the inaugural World Cycling League, a track meet that debuts in Carson, California, on March 18th and 19th.
‘Dublin Thunder’, as they’ve titled themselves, will send a seven-strong team to the west coast of America for the event to race a lucrative event the organisers are hopeful of transforming into something like the Bremen or Ghent six-day.
A Mexican national squad are the only other team from outside the host nation, who themselves will have four teams competing.
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The seven rider Irish team is Eoin Morton, Con Collis (both UCD CC), Fintan Ryan (DID.ie), Eammon Byrne, Lydia Gurley, Eimear Moran and Susie Mitchell (all Sundrive Track Team).
Swords man Morton explained it's his first big goal of 2016, hardly surprising given the first prize.
“It'll be a great opportunity for us to race an international standard race outside of the Dublin Track Cycling International,” said Morton.
“There's €4,000 for the best team and we've been invited so it's an offer not to be sniffed at.
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“We’re super excited about it, the training for the road season has taken a bit of a back seat but I still hope to be kicking for the Rás and Easter.”
Six teams will each field teams of four men and three women who will compete in three “Team Trak” sessions over two days.
Each race will feature 12 different events, seven for men and five for women, on the wooden velodrome at the VELO Sports Centre in Carson.
Races will be as short as two laps for sprinters and up to 40 laps for endurance riders.
Each of the six teams will field from one to four riders in each TeamTrak race with up to 24 riders on the track at once. All events will be mass-start races.
Riders score points for their team in each race during the meet with point scores and team standings posted on the arena scoreboard in real time.
The WCL is sanctioned as an invitational event to qualified track cyclists by USA Cycling, the official governing body of cycling in the US.
The concept is in its infancy but news that Irish riders are getting in on the ground floor of what will hopefully become a successful cycling franchise will be welcomed by all on the home scene.
There are no appearance fees on the table as of yet, but expenses are covered for the Irish and there are generous prizes on offer. If the new circuit works and becomes successful, fees will likely arise.
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