Irvine on his way to World Cup pursuit silver at the weekend; he’s now a Pro Conti road rider (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)
London 2012 track Olympian, Martyn Irvine has signed for the US-based Pro Continental team Unitedhealthcare.
The move was confirmed by Irvine and the team early this afternoon. It comes after a great weekend for Irvine, who won two silver medals at the UCI World Cup in Glasgow.
Irvine has spent most of the past 18 months focussing on the track and qualifying for the Olympics. However, he is a road rider of note, having taken a great stage win in the Rás in 2011.
He went very close to winning the National Road Race Championships in Clonmel this year, when he was aggressive from the small breakaway on the last lap despite having little road racing in his legs.
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''I'm super excited to race for UnitedHealthcare,” he said.
“I've committed a lot of time to the track in recent years and I'm so happy that this team has given me a chance to show what I'm capable of. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to working hard for the team and helping it achieve its goals next year.”
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The 27-year-old has most recently ridden for the Asian-based Continental RTS Racing team alongside fellow Olympian David McCann.
Irvine is a seven-time national champion and the team now feels he is ready for a full assault on the road scene in Europe and the US in 2013.
“Martyn is our little secret,” said team general manager Mike Tamayo.
“He comes from a track racing background where he represented Ireland in the 2012 Olympics. After seeing his work ethic while training and his huge horsepower, adding Martyn to our sprint team was a no brainer.”
Having been national criterium champion twice in Ireland and having the track pedigree that he does, Irvine will be an invaluable asset to any lead out train but he is very much more than capable of taking his own chances.
That’s an absolutely fantastic move for Irvine, with a combination of his class, preparation and continued perseverance being rewarded with a Pro Continental contract. While obviously not exactly in the autumn of his career, his progression to that level at the age of 27 years will serve as a reminder to young Irish riders knocking on the door that they have plenty of development time left when they leave the U23 ranks.
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