Having won medals at the Worlds, Europeans and World Cups in recent years many of the best riders in Irish track racing are ready for the National Track Championships in Dublin this weekend.
Some of the most coveted titles in the sport will be down
for decision tomorrow and Sunday as Cycling Ireland’s track commission seeks to
keep the nationals on course over multiple weekends in a time of Covid19.
The senior championships weekend, on the Éamonn Ceannt velodrome, Sundrive Rd, is taking place behind closed doors due to limitations on numbers that can attend sports events.
However, despite the forced absence of spectators this year and some foreign-based riders having chosen not to undergo the 14-day quarantine required for traveling to Ireland to compete, the racing will be no less fierce.
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This weekend the men will contest the 4km individual
pursuit, sprints, kilo TT and 15km scratch race. The women will fight for the
3km individual pursuit, sprints, 500m TT and 10km scratch race titles.
The pursuit and sprint title races are down for decision
tomorrow while the TTs and scratch races are scheduled for Sunday.
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Lara Gillespie, one of Irish cycling’s brightest rising
stars, is the most decorated female rider in the field, having won multiple
medals and the junior worlds and Europeans.
The in-form Mia Griffin is also on the start list as is national
TT champion Kelly Murphy and Orla Walsh, who recently broke the 200m flying TT
national record.
However, they won’t have it all their own way as Eimer
McMullan, April Collins, Nikki Taggart and Jennifer Neenan are also riding.
Mark Downey and Fintan Ryan – both members of the Irish
men’s omnium set-up that has qualified for the Olympics - are in the men’s
field along with multiple national sprint champion Eoin Mullen.
The likes of Lindsay Watson, Michael O’Loughlin, Ben
Walsh, Marc Potts, Conor Murnane and Cian Keogh can all make their presence
felt, including possibly taking a national title.
Great credit goes to Hugh Byrne and the rest of the track
commission for ensuring the championships are being held this year despite the
very challenging conditions because of the Covid19 pandemic.
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