Iain Dyer, Cycling Ireland's high performance director, has praised the women's team pursuiters after their place at the Olympic Games became official with the formal end of the qualification process.
Dyer said the Irish riders - now qualified in three events - had shown great dedication during the process to beat other nations with very strong histories in the event, not to mention better facilities.
Qualification in the team pursuit event also secures Ireland places in both the madison and omnium at the Paris Games in August to add to the men's and women's road race places, secured at the end of last season.
“With the way the rankings work, you almost feel like you have to qualify to qualify, and that process begins over a year away from the Olympic qualification process itself," said Dyer, of riders having to first become eligible to ride the qualification events.
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"So it’s felt full-on for the entire Olympic cycle to be in this position, especially with having to train away from home constantly. There’s no doubt there’s lots of young athletes with big track potential in our system but not having a home indoor facility yet remains a significant barrier.
“It’s notable that in the women’s team pursuit we have outqualified several nations with strong track programmes and cycling cultures, and not least of all plenty of nations that have their own indoor velodromes.
"I think it’s a testimony to the knowledge and tenacity of staff and riders alike, that we developed a sound strategy and could execute it," he added of the qualification process that ended with the conclusion of the Milton round of the UCI Nations Cup in Canada at the weekend.
The Irish pursuiters had performed so well - including this year at the Europeans and the Nations Cups in Adelaide and Hong Kong - they did not need to go to Canada to race as their qualification was assured. That has facilitated their return to road racing and that, added with their break from the track, should aid their preparation for Paris.
The road to Paris
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Dyer added, because of the nature of the qualification process, Cycling Ireland decided to go all in for the team pursuit as the gateway to other events; a goal the team and staff has absolutely nailed over the last 12 months, with clear signs of progress even before that.
“There are various mechanisms to qualify for the track events in Paris, such as a narrower set of events to target over the two years, including European Championships, Nations Cups and of course the World Championships," Dyer explained.
"The qualification pathway favours team events, as it also offers places for the other endurance events, the madison and the omnium. We opted to target the team pursuit for our strategy to qualify for all three.
“In an instance we had only one solo performer in a given event, you really feel like you are fighting the system somewhat. That individual must be virtually one of the top riders in the world consistently over those two years to stand a chance of qualifying.
"Unfortunately, it became apparent very early on that the chances to qualify other quota spots like that was an impossible task, so our focus narrowed to the women’s endurance events.”
With the berths at the Games now secured, the Cycling Ireland staff and riders continue to the next step of the process; selection of the team. Cycling Ireland must nominate riders to Olympic Federation of Ireland, which then makes the formal selection, though that is effectively a rubber stamp process.
An expression of interest process will now be opened, but only the small group of riders with the performances and experience commensurate with the challenge of the Olympics will be eligible.
“The nomination process is a little different to the way we’d normally make selections, and such is the eligibility criteria there are just five athletes from which to nominate," Dyer said.
"We’ll be seeking expressions of interest from those athletes this week and will proceed in line with the published policy. Actual selection by the OFI comes later and team announcements will all follow via Team Ireland.”
