A nine-rider Irish team has been selected for the UCI Paracycling Track World Championships in Paris next month when the first places at the 2024 Paralympic Games will be up for grabs. The championships are also set to unfold on the Saint-Quentine-en-Yvelines velodrome, which will be used for the Paralympics.
While these Worlds will be the last major outing of the year for the paracycling team, the fact early qualification for the Paralympics is on the line makes them more important than ever.
And while riders such as Katie George Dunlevy and her pilot Eve McCrystal, who are multi Paralympic champions, will easily qualify for Paris 2024, Cycling Ireland wants a very large team at the Games in two years. That means big performances will be required through the team, starting in Paris next month.
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"The UCI Paracycling Track Worlds are the last major competition goal in 2022 for the paracycling team. We are aiming for a consistent showing from all our athletes across all races," said Cycling Ireland's head coach Neill Delahaye.
“With one female and one male qualification slot available at the end of this year, everyone will be doing their utmost to perform at their best and earn adequate nations ranking points to secure those two early quota places for the Paris 2024 Games.
“The velodrome in Saint-Quentine-en-Yvelines is the track cycling location for Paris 2024 which also gives us an early opportunity to race at the Games venue which will be a valuable experience for the riders and support team. We have not raced on the track since Tokyo and everyone is looking forward to getting back on the boards for some fast and hard racing.”
Tokyo Paralympics silver medallists Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal will target the pursuit and kilo events at the Wolds - from October 20th to 23rd - while Richael Timothy, Ronan Grimes and Chris Burns will compete in a range of races, see schedule below. The tandem pairings of Martin Gordon and Eoin Mullen, as well as Damien Vereker and Marcin Mizgajski, are also in the team.
Team Ireland | UCI Worlds
- Katie-George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal – Pursuit & Kilo
- Ronan Grimes – Pursuit, Kilo, Scratch, Omnium (200 is additional event to make up a 4 race Omnium)
- Richael Timothy - Pursuit, 500, Scratch, Omnium (200 is additional event to make up a 4 race Omnium)
- Chris Burns - Pursuit, Kilo, Scratch, Omnium (200 is additional event to make up a 4 race Omnium)
- Martin Gordon & Eoin Mullen – Kilo & Sprint
- Damien Vereker & Marcin Mizgajski – Pursuit & Kilo
