Eddie Dunbar is one of the brightest talents the country has produced in a long time but the fact he was Ireland's sole rider in this year's World Championships disappointed newly elected Cycling Ireland president Ciarán McKenna.
By Brian Canty
Ciarán McKenna has said one of his major goals as Cycling Ireland president will be to ensure more Irish teams are sent abroad in the future while a national team in the An Post Rás is another priority.
The Kildare-based father of two has a long and storied racing and administration career in this country and said he was shocked to hear top domestic rider Mark Dowling was nearly 30 years old by the time he wore an Irish jersey.
“I’d like to see an Irish team in the Rás; it’s our national flagship stage race and I’d like to see a national team in that.
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“It’s a good few years now since there was a team and we should have one in it," McKenna continued.
“I was shocked to hear Mark Dowling got his first green jersey at almost 30. This is because we haven’t spent (money on road teams) in 10 years.
“But in my opinion you have to give that carrot to riders; whether it’s BMX or MTB. That’s what they’re striving for, to ride for Ireland.
“I was hugely disappointed not to see a full complement of U23 and juniors in the World Championships this year,” he continued.
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“We have to serve those riders at that level. Ryan Mullen and Eddie (Dunbar) are two of the best u23 riders we’ve had in a decade and I don’t think we served them right as an organisation.
“Whether it’s road or BMX we should do our damndest to get to the events to bring them success.
“There’s a huge amount of knowledge in this country at the moment too and I want to make better use of that.
“Guys like Ciarán Power are an untapped resource and there are plenty of his likes around who can only serve our riders.”
We have a full interview with Ciaran McKenna coming up.
The Irish team gets ready for the off on stage 1 of the Kreiz Breizh Elite stage race in France; Mark Dowling far left (Photo: Josselin Rieu)
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