Eoin Mullen begins the new Olympic cycle hopeful of getting to Tokyo 2020 and there are also new names in the Irish team for the European Track Championships (Photo: Guy Swarbrick)
After the disappointment of only one woman being named on the Irish team for the World Road Championships, there is better news for our top female riders in the selection for the next big track showdown on the international calendar.
An 11-rider Irish team has been named for the European Track Championships in Paris, and seven of those picked are women.
The championships get underway tomorrow though Cycling Ireland has waited until this evening to announce the team.
The women named are Rio Olympian Shannon McCurley, national road champion Lydia Boylan, Worlds TT rider Anna Turvey, Eileen Burns, Eimear Moran, Robyn Stewart and Lydia Gurley.
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The four men in the Irish team are Eoin Mullen, Felix English, Marc Potts and Fintan Ryan.
Eileen Burns is a rider of real quality and it is great to see her in the team for the Europeans (Photo: Sean Rowe)
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Racing takes place at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome in Paris and Cycling Ireland’s technical director Brian Nugent said he was hopeful of success.
The meeting represents the start of a new four-year Olympic cycle.
And with just McCurley – who was self-funded and based on her own in Australia – making it to Rio this summer hopeful more will be on the plane to Tokyo in four years.
“We are at the beginning of a new four year cycle, and it’s great to see a representation across so many disciplines and with a lot of new riders in there too,” said Nugent.
“It’s an ideal learning opportunity and very important race experience for the future.
“We have a seven strong women’s team across sprint and endurance, with three out of the four women in the team pursuit making their debut in this event. This will be a new challenge for this team.
“There’s exciting times ahead for this group and of course not to forget we have the return of talented riders such as Felix English, Shannon McCurley and Lydia Boylan.
"(They) are here to focus on their individual events and are well capable of pushing for podiums in their specialist events.”
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