New generation Ireland team to debut at European Champs

There are plenty of new names in the Irish team for the elite European Track Championships in Guadaloupe next week, all of whom can learn from decorated internationals like Martyn Irvine who also lines out.

Having sent relatively small teams to elite World and European championships in recent years, Cycling Ireland is making a very significant play in upping its international track commitments.

A much larger Irish team than normal has been selected for the European Championships in Baie-Mahault, Guadaloupe, next week with Cycling Ireland entering women’s and men’s team pursuit line-ups.

The decision means a chance for those who have never been involved at elite level on the track including U23 internationals Cormac Clarke (Newry Wheelers), Javan Nulty (DID Dunboyne) and former junior international Thomas Fallon (Willeboord Nill Vooru).

With them on the team are the international regular trio of Martyn Irvine (Unitedhealthcare), Ryan Mullen (An Post-Chainreaction) and Eoin Mullen (UCI).

And while the women’s squad also contains some familiar names in the shape of Caroline Ryan (Garda CC) and Australian-based Shannon McCurley, those new to the elite team for such a big fixture include Lydia Boylan (Velosport Pasta Montegrappa), Lauren Creamer (Pearl Izumi Sport) and Melanie Spath (WyndyMilla).

Already one of the best U23 road riders in the country, Newry's Cormac Clarke has been plying his trade in Belgium of late and has earned a big opportunity with the national elite track team next week (Photo: Martine Verfaille)

The potential of the new team pursuit line-ups will remain unknown until they debut in open competition. However, Ireland goes into these championships with real hopes of medals elsewhere.

Martyn Irvine took a bronze medal at the Europeans 12 months ago in the omnium after battling back from a broken hip earlier in the year.

He has since won a silver medal in the scratch race at the World Track Championships at the start of this year in Colombia. And at the 2013 Worlds in Ukraine he took pursuit silver and scratch race gold.

More recently, Irvine rode the Commonwealth Games where he underperformed. But since then he has decided to leave the US criterium scene behind him to focus exclusively on the track in the run up to the next Olympics.

And he would dearly love a medal from next week to get that journey underway.

Javan Nulty has already broken into the U23 national fold, but the Europeans will be his first out with the elite team (Photo: Paul Atkinson)

Ryan Mullen won two bronze medals in the U23 European Track Championships last year in Portugal; making the podium in the pursuit and scratch race.

Since then he has finished 4th in the pursuit at the elite World Championships in Colombia and also claimed sliver in the U23 time trial at the World Road Championships in Spain two weeks ago.

He comes into these championships fresh from that ride at the road Worlds and, like Irvine, is one to watch.

Similarly, young sprinter Eoin Mullen is also on the crest of a wave right now having won the sprint at the Three Days of Aigle meeting in Switzerland last weekend. It was his first major international win.

Mullen rode the U23 Europeans last year and took bronze in the sprint. He goes into next week against the elites full of confidence and with momentum on his side.

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Caroline Ryan has taken medals away from the world stage before and can do it again at next week's Europeans.

Of the women in the Irish team for next week, Caroline Ryan and Shannon McCurley can do plenty of damage and perhaps take medals.

In December of last year, Ryan won a pursuit bronze medal at the World Cup in Mexico, the first medal of any kind by an Irish woman at a World Cup.

She also won bronze in the points race at the World Track Championships in Melbourne in 2012 and has the pedigree and the legs to add to her medal haul next week.

Similarly, McCurley has some very strong results to her name in Australia and Asia in recent times and took a bronze medal in the scratch race at the U23 European Championships in Poland in 2011.

The Europeans run from next Wednesday, October 15th, to Sunday week, October 19th, in the French Caribbean.

The meeting marks the first step in the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification process for the Irish team, with riders competing across Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines.

Meanwhile, Cycling Ireland has also revealed four Irish riders have qualified to ride the upcoming UCI World Cup meetings where they will compete in sprint and endurance events.

Ireland has qualified Martyn Irvine and Caroline Ryan in the omnium, Eoin Mullen in the keirin and sprint and Shannon McCurley in the keirin.