Cycling Ireland’s track commission has questioned why there is such a disconnect between the home scene and high performance section of the national federation (Photo: Sean Rowe)
The track commission of Cycling Ireland has been damning in its criticism of how the discipline is being treated by the governing body and some of the country’s best riders.
It believes the moment of maximum opportunity to secure an indoor international standard velodrome for Ireland has come and gone and now been missed.
And it criticised some of the best riders in the country for ignoring the national championships.
The commission believes Cycling Ireland is more interested in recruiting strong track riders from overseas who can declare for Ireland than developing home grown talent.
The scathing criticisms are contained in the commission’s report prepared for Cycling Ireland’s annual conference last weekend in Limerick.
Advertisement
The report was not read at the conference but it was submitted and has now been published among the full volume of documents arising from the meeting.
It begins by stating that 12 months ago the proposal for the new velodrome was “on the crest of a wave” but since then “the tide has gone out and brought the velodrome with it”.
It pointed out there had been no meeting with Government since February to even discuss the proposed project.
This was despite the huge level of activity that could be taking place on the track if it were built.
“We are at the end of our tether and with 240 separate sessions and a total of 51,000 man hours in Sundrive, 27 separate sessions in Orangefield with over 250 man hours and Kanturk with 21 sessions and 150 man hours, this would equate to 1,800 matches in Croke Park,” it says.
“We run national championships that seem to be boycotted by our high performance teams, perhaps on the instructions of higher authority who seem to be more interested in recruiting rider from abroad than developing our indigenous talent.
Related News
“The lack of interest in championship is a disgrace. Are we wasting our time?”
It questioned whether the commission and domestic track scene had been abandoned by Cycling Ireland.
“We see riders drafted into the (Irish) squads that have never sat on a track bike. We even had squad riders deride the facilities in Sundrive road who have never been there.
“Perhaps we could make it compulsory for riders to ride the previous year to be eligible to be a member of the national squads.
“We have to ask the question; is there an ulterior motive behind our elite squads going abroad for training.
"It can’t be the weather as we have had 240 dry sessions over a nine month period.
“Why do we have to import coaches to train our coaches when we have an international coach employed by Cycling Ireland.
“There is a disconnect between us on the ground here and what is happening in the high performance end of things.
The report acknowledges the progress made in bringing the velodrome project to the apparently stalled tender process. But it questioned if the chance to secure the track has now been missed.
“Another missed opportunity was to push for the building of the velodrome while its popularity was at its peak,” the commission’s report says.
“(We) had our local TD Ciaran Cannon, an Taoiseoich Enda Kenny, world champion Martyn Irvine and cycling legend Sean Kelly lined up for a photoshoot to help promote this plight.
“The lines of communication were opened between Cycling Ireland, high performance and track commission.
“And while there were meetings, a great still needs to be ironed out for a pathway to the high-performance to work more efficiently.”
It also believes that as well as plans for the new indoor velodrome on the National Sports Campus in Abbottstown, the tracks in Orangefield and Kanturk needed major upgrading.
Topics
