*JB Murphy takes stage 2 of the Victus Tour of Ulster last year. He is among the carded athletes now allowed to resuming training despite the lock-down*

A group of Irish cyclists is among the elite Irish athletes now allowed to effectively bypass any further lock-down restrictions and resume training as they please.

The Olympic Federation of Ireland along with national governing bodies, including Cycling Ireland, had been pressing the Government to grant an exemption to elite athletes to train.

The federation had recently argued that because elite athletes in other countries had been granted permission to train, despite the general population still being restricted, they were gaining an advantage over the Irish.

On Friday the Government announced an acceleration of the easing Covid19 of lock-down restrictions meaning cyclists will now be able to train anywhere in their home county, as well as anywhere within a 20km radius of home, from next week.

The Government also granted permission to all carded athletes - those who are receiving funding from Sport Ireland - to resume training.

*The paralympic champs Dunlevy and McCrystal are among the carded athletes who, if based in the Republic, will benefit from the latest developments*

*Mia Griffin, on the front, will be back in training action as she is one of the cyclists who now has an exemption to train unrestricted by the lock-down (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

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It means the cyclists on the lists below who are based in the Republic can train as they please on the road and they will also be able to go to national sports facilities to train in the gym.

The Olympic Federation of Ireland welcomed the decision and said athletes from individual sports should work with their federations to discuss how they can now train.

Chef de Mission for Team Ireland in Tokyo, Tricia Heberle
said: “We are delighted to see athletes and sports return to their training
centres and know that this will bring relief to the many athletes who can get
back to their job of preparing for the Olympic Games next year.

“I would like to thank Sport Ireland, the Sport Ireland Institute and all the national governing bodies for the work that they have put into getting us to this point.”

The concession granted to the elite cyclists and other carded athletes only applies to the Republic and therefore it only applies to the cyclists on the lists below who live in the Republic.

The list below names each carded rider this year and how much they are receiving in funding from Sport Ireland towards their cycling.