Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin have been selected to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games this summer, with Philip Deignan named as a reserve.
Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche have been selected to lead Ireland’s medal quest in the men’s road race at the Olympic Games on Saturday August 6th.
Given the hilly nature of the course it’s no surprise the Olympic Council of Ireland along with Cycling Ireland have selected those particular two, with Martin set to start as one of the pre-race favourites, should he arrive in Rio de Janeiro in good condition.
Should either fall ill or opt out for whatever reason, Philip Deignan has been named as a reserve rider.Bad luck and a convoluted qualification system meant Ireland can only send two as opposed to nations like Colombia, Italy, Spain and Belgium who all get to send five men.
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144 riders will start the race and those on the start-line are all there based only on results from their nations in 2015, rather than a two-year window like some other disciplines.
It matters little for a man like Martin as few riders would be able to support him anyway in a 241-kilometre event.
The riders will do four laps of a 24.8-kilometre circuit followed by three laps of another 25.7-kilometre lap before heading back to the finish at Fort Copacabana.
The only other rider travelling as part of the cycling team is Shannon McCurley who will race the keirin event on the track.
She will be the first Irish female track cyclist to qualify for the Olympic Games.
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