Irish team selection for the Tokyo Olympic Games could be significantly impacted by quarantine rules in place at the time.
While Ireland has established male pro riders who would normally be expected to take up the first berths on the team, they may be scuppered by a combination of Tour de France and the short turnaround after it before the Olympic road events begin.
Riders like Matt Teggart (VilleFranche Beaujolais), Daragh O'Mahony (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling), Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb SunGod) and Kevin McCambridge (AVC Aix En Provence) may come into the picture depending on form and how many racing opportunities they get in the Covid19-hit early months of the year.
Ireland will have three places in the male road race at the Games and two places in the men's TT. Furthermore, one of the cyclists lining out in the TT must come from the trio that rides the road race.
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Unfortunately Ireland has not secured any places for women on the road. And while both Irish men and women have qualified for the track, via the madison events, none of them will be riding the Tour de France which means the clash of quarantine rules and the Tour will not impact them.
The men’s road race in Tokyo takes place on Saturday, July 24th, while the men’s TT will be contested on Wednesday, July 28th.
With the Tour de France set to conclude in Paris on
Sunday, July 18th, there is less than a week between the French Grand Tour and
the Olympic road race.
At present, the quarantine period for athletes arriving in Tokyo is set to be 14 days. That may change if the world gets on top of the Covid-19 pandemic in the next six months due to the roll-out of the vaccine, but for now the period is 14 days.
The 14-day period would not involve athletes quarantining inside apartments or hotels. Instead, a softer version is envisaged, with the athletes forced to stay in a bubble; away from everyone, apart from those in that bubble, but still able to train and prepare for their events.
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However, if that rule – of arriving in Japan at least 14
days before an event – stays in place, it will have implications for the Irish
men’s road selection at the Olympics.
With Dan Martin (Israel Start Up Nation), Nicolas Roche (Team DSM) and Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) all expected to ride the Tour, they could all be ruled out of the Games.
As the Olympic road race is hilly, Bennett may not opt to go whatever the quarantine rules are at the time. But Martin and Roche would likely be the first names on the team sheet if there were no quarantine rules.
Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) would be another obvious
choice, even in an ideal world where Ireland could send any of its riders without
having to factor in quarantine. He could ride both the TT, which features a
climb, and the road race.
Another very possible choice is Ben Healy, the
20-year-old Trinity Racing rider who won the elite and U23 road race at the
National Road Championships in October.
Healy was also fastest rider of the elite or U23 men’s
fields in the TT at the nationals, though was only eligible for the U23 title.
Ryan Mullen (Trek Segafredo) is another obvious choice
and is already a veteran of several Worlds and Europeans campaigns for Ireland
though, like Bennett, the hilly courses in Japan may not be suited to him.
Depending on the quarantine rules, the door may then open up to others, including Matt Teggart (VilleFranche Beaujolais), Daragh O'Mahony (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling), Rory Townsend (Canyon dhb SunGod) and Kevin McCambridge (AVC Aix En Provence).
Either way, if a 14-day quarantine rule applies for the Olympics, and a number of our top riders were ruled out, the Irish selection would be opened to a wider pool of riders.
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