Ireland's Sam Bennett leads the national team into the World Road Championships in the US later this month, with a 13-rider team selected.
Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) and Conor Dunne (An Post-Chainreaction) lead the Irish charge at the World Road Championships in the US next week, with both selected to ride the elite men’s race.
They are part of a 13-rider team of male and female riders to represent Ireland in the time trial (TT) and road race events across elite, U23 and junior categories next week in Richmond, Virginia.
Cycling Ireland has opted not to fill the maximum quota of riders allowed.
For example, three were eligible to ride the elite men’s race but just two have been picked.
And while two elite men could have ridden the TT next week, nobody has been selected for that event.
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Notable absentees from the elite men’s team are Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) and the Team Sky duo of Nicolas Roche and Philip Deignan.
Martin indicated long ago he did not want to travel the Atlantic to ride a Worlds that did not suit him, with Roche coming to the same conclusion in recent weeks.
Deignan appears to have been overlooked, as he is in north America at present racing with Team Sky.
He enjoyed a very strong period in the early part of the year but had endured a more challenging few months since his crash at the national road race championships in Omagh in June.
In the U23 category, Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Garmin) will compete in the TT with Eddie Dunbar (NFTO Pro Cycling), where Mullen will be hot favourite to take the title after losing out by less than half a second last year.
He has just completed the Tour of Britain and looked much stronger in that race than in the same event 12 months ago.
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While Cycling Ireland had confirmed in recent weeks that the Irish U23 men’s team had not qualified for the road race at the Worlds, the UCI has now made additional places available and Ireland has selected Dunbar to ride that event.
In the elite women’s races, Olivia Dillon (Visit Dallas) and Fiona Meade (Fearless Femmes) have both been selected for the road race.
Meade moved to the US to compete full time this year with a view to gaining selection on the national team, with that gamble having paid off now.
Comeback woman Siobhan Horgan (Team Aquablue) has been picked for the TT, having gained the national crown in that discipline after coming back to the sport following a few years away.
The surprise package of the Worlds last year when he scored a top 10 in the junior TT, Michael O’Loughlin (NRPT-Magnet.ie) is back again and rides both the junior TT and road race.
He will be joined in the TT by Simon Tuomey of Cork-Giant.
And in the road race a few days later they will be joined by Adam Stenson and Jake Gray (both NRPT-Magnet.ie) and Darragh O’Mahony (O’Leary Stone Kanturk CC).
Donegal teenager Ciara Doogan, who rode very well at the recent European road and track championships, has been selected for both the time trial and the road race.
The Errigal CC rider is the only female junior selected for the Worlds.
More later.
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