Paidi O'Brien, seen here taking last year's title, has been in great form of late and will go to the line next month among the hottest of favourites (Photo: Michael Meade)
By Gerard Cromwell
The National Criterium Championships has been rescued for this year, with the Kildare-based Murphy Surveys Kilcullen CC stepping in to promote the title race.
The event will take place in two weeks time on the evening of Thursday, September 4th; starting at 6.45pm.
While criterium racing is traditionally held on circuits of tight roads in urban settings, this year's event will be run on the Mondello Park motor racing track in Co Kildare, where the popular Bikeworx Series has been run in recent years.
It appears had it not been for the promoting club stepping forward to fill the fixture, the race would have been lost from the calender for 2014.
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“It came about because nobody else was prepared to run it,” admits Liam Walker of the promoting club.
“Our summer league, which is run every Thursday evening, is over now, so we decided to take this on.”
With so many top quality crits in his legs of late, US-based Martyn Irvine will be hard to beat if he is able to return to Ireland to take part.
As the track is booked up until 6pm on the day of the event, there will be no support race prior to the championship race. The event will cater for A1, A2 and A3 riders only and will be run on the shorter of the two circuits available on Mondello.
“The big course is mostly used for races at the moment but for a criterium we’re looking at a course that will only take a minute and a half or two minutes a lap,” says Walker.
It means while the racing will not take place on tight public roads closed for the ocassion, as is traditional; the decision to use the short lap will make the race look and feel like an urban criterium.
“The duration of the race will be one hour and three laps and the field is limited to 60 riders as per Cycling Ireland criteria," said Walker.
“Our original idea was to hold it on a Saturday, but there is no Saturday available until the end of October, which is too late
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“Unfortunately we don’t have access to the track until 6pm, so we don’t have time to hold a support race.”
The former national criterium champion, Felix English has been out of action of late and is a highly unlikely starter next month.
Entry to the championships is by online entry only, via the Cycling Ireland website, with the entry fee set at €25.
The event is sure to attract the attention of the country’s fast men, with recent Ballinrobe Two-Day winner and defending champion Paidi O’Brien of Osborne Meats-Edge Sports already eyeballing the race as one of his end of season goals.
Former criterium champion Martyn Irvine, now racing on the criterium circuit Stateside for the Unitedhealthcare team, will be one to watch if he returns.
Former champion Felix English (Rapha Condor JLT) has been out of competition of late with a broken hand so it seems unlikely he would be available.
However, riders like defending champion O'Brien, the always strong Mark Dowling (DID Dunboyne), two time runner-up Damien Shaw (Aquablue), Zippy Doyle and Aidan Crowley (VeloRevolution), Eoin Morton and Sean McKenna (UCD CC), Jason Prendergast and Paddy Clarke (Liquidworx-Fitscience), to name but a few, will make it a very tough title to win.
Jason Prendergast, seen here winning the Westport Criterium last month, has won a string of races this year and would love a national champs title, or even a medal (Photo: www.jimmymcelroy.com)
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