Teenager Josie Knight was a revelation this year, winning a European Championships track silver. Now a range of plans will aim to find more like her.
Aideen Keenan has taken over the running of the Corkagh Park Summer Criterium Series for 2015 and is hopeful the popular events can help bring more women into the sport.
The Orwell Wheelers rider is relishing the task, but knows there are big challenges ahead.
“The Corkagh Park Crit series has proven to be fantastic launching pad for anyone with an interest in giving racing a go,” she said of the weekly racing series held over the summer months in Dublin and hosted by a different club every week.
"It’s a really safe and flat course and offers a brilliant introduction to racing.
"We've two levels of racing; A and B. And the series also attracts experienced riders and gives the beginners another level to aim for.
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“The great news is that next year one-day licences will be available to women who’d like to dip their toe in the water, without the need to commit to a full racing licence.
Eimear O’Reilly’s win in the final TT round of the Stickybottle-Orwell Series was enough to seal outright victory in the B event (Photo: Brendan Culleton)
"The hope is that this will open racing up to a lot of women who are sitting on the fence and it will encourage them to come and try it to see what all the fuss is about.
"We’re also going to run some mini workshops at the weekly races, with the aim of educating women about the different aspects of racing.
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“Women’s road racing is definitely growing in Ireland, but attracting more into the sport and building towards a critical mass is definitely the biggest challenge,” she continued.
“Cycling Ireland membership is still only about 20 per cent female, and most of them don’t race. So there’s still a bit of a way to go.
“There is a group of volunteers (Cycling Ireland's women’s commission - Ed) tackling these challenges and they’ve made great strides in actively growing the sport over the last decade.
Olivia Dillon has been a trail blazer for Irish women, but numbers joining Cycling Ireland remain modest compared to men (Photo: www.jimmymcelroy.com)
"They set up the women’s national league, which will be 10 years old next year. That has developed into a really solid part of the women's racing calendar.
“This year, they’ve managed to introduce more stage racing into the calendar with a new two-day race in Newcastlewest and the Gorey Three-Day is offering a women's handicap.
"This is a sign of a maturing scene, and those types of stage races will help us prepare for Rás na mBan.
“The Junior women’s scene is also growing with Orla Hendron at the helm running training camps all over the country," she added.
"I know her goal for 2015 is to have an U20 Irish team in Rás na mBan, which would be a phenomenal achievement.”
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