One of the best TT riders in the country, Marcus Christie has said he is very frustrated at being overlooked for selection onto the Northern Ireland team for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
He said when he was not picked he quickly lodged an appeal, which has gone nowhere. However, Christie told stickybottle he could not understand why he was not picked for the TT, which is his specialist event, and was "frustrated".
The 31-year-old added while the TT was on in Birmingham this Thursday - and he was not sure if the team could be changed at this late stage - he was in great form and could make the short journey to ride it.
"If you go onto the Commonwealth Games website, I'm on the long list. So, really, I don't see why I couldn't be picked for (the TT) even though it's on Thursday," he said. "I'm saying, I'd be happy to jump in. If it's too late, it's too late. But I am prepared and it's only over in England…."
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The Banbridge CC rider also felt the fact Lydia Boylan and JB Murphy could not take their places on the Northern Ireland cycling team, due to injury, would have created a push to bring in some other riders, especially as a decision had been initially taken to pick a large team.
"It's the biggest team they've taken to the Games in years and when I was told I wasn't picked, I assumed they were only taking two or three riders," he said if initially learning of his non-selection.
"I think they'll just ask one of the road race riders if they want to ride the TT. But the road race is a flat course, so I could have ridden the TT and then done a job in the road race for the team. As far as I am concerned, 100 per cent I could do the road race as well.
"This year, apart from the nationals, I've been unbeaten in TTs; won the two National Leagues, the Ernie Magwood 10s and I've been much faster than 50 minutes for 25 miles. In the criteria period I've also done 18-minute 10s and one 17-minute 10."
A query to the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council about Christie's non-selection had not received a response at the time of writing.
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Christie said while he had a poor TT in the National Road Championships in June, that event was outside the qualification period and he believed he had already satisfied the other TT selection criteria. He also pointed out he had finished 7th in the TT at the Commonwealth Games in Australia four years ago.
The criteria for the TT stipulates that by the end of March this year riders had to achieve a top 15 finish in a UCI TT or medal in a National Championships TT – both over 40km or a similar distance. The criteria also states regular sub-50 minute 40km TTs could qualify a rider to be considered for selection.
Christie won bronze in the TT at the National Championships last year behind World Tour riders Ryan Mullen and Nicolas Roche, and was then selected for Ireland for the TT at the Worlds.
He added he had gone well under the 50-minute marker in 25 mile TTs regularly both this year and last, including setting a time of 45:45 in Cambridge for the distance to break four-time Olympian David McCann’s Irish record, which had stood for 13 years.
He also pointed out even in strong winds and generally poor conditions yesterday at the Champion of Champions TT organised by Ards Cycling Club he clocked a time of 50:24 to win.
Christie believed he was going better now that four years ago when he was 7th in the Commonwealth Games, adding it was frustrating to be selected for Ireland for the Worlds last autumn and yet was unable to make the Commonwealth Games team for Northern Ireland now.
He made it clear he has no criticism to make of any of the riders selected onto the team. For example, Darren Rafferty was a very talented TT rider and he fully deserved his selection for that event, he said.
However, Christie added while he did not want to disrespect any of the other riders picked, none of them was a TT specialist or even rode TTs very often. Against that backdrop, he found it hard to accept he was not picked.
He felt he should have been selected for the TT and could also have slotted into the road race team, instead of expecting MTB riders to ride the road race and bolster the Northern Ireland team on the day, which he believed would happen.
