David McQuaid says the emphasis on the track in recent years has taken from the road program - but he also argues it is not just a question of cost. The former international believes it is not solely the duty of Cycling Ireland to fund riders going abroad and that clubs need to take more of an initiative.
Elite riders on the domestic front long for a chance to represent Ireland in races, both at home and abroad.
But in recent years there have been fewer opportunities as the emphasis from the federation has shifted to the track.
More and more of the home-based men are starting to explore ways of racing in places like France and Belgium but the issue of funding is usually one of the biggest obstacles.
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The country’s biggest stage race has not had a national team in it for several years now – something several well-known voices in Irish cycling have been critical about, though that is set to change according to newly-elected president Ciarán McKenna.
We’ve asked a number of prominent cycling figures whether elite Irish teams drawn from the home scene could be funded by clubs or even the riders themselves, as they were in previous decades – to help expose them to top-level racing
In this third dispatch on the issue; former Irish international and general manager of the Synergy Baku Cycling project David McQuaid gives us his thoughts on the matter.
By Brian Canty
David McQuaid believes Cycling Ireland are “shooting themselves in the foot” by not having Irish teams competing at a UCI level more often.
The general manager of the Synergy Baku Cycling Project said that not only are the wrong races being picked to send U23 teams to, but the races here aren’t consistently hard enough to ready the home-based men to have a crack at securing valuable UCI points in the Rás.
McQuaid added that instead of sending teams “down the Nations Cup route” – a high-risk strategy in a world-class field - there are easier races in the UK and both national and club teams could be funded to go and compete.
“The answer, firstly, on whether Irish riders should fund themselves or contribute towards Irish teams is a non-runner," he said.
“Cycling Ireland are shooting themselves in the foot by not having Irish teams competing at a UCI level, be it 1.2 or 2.2 ranked races.
"They’re missing opportunities on UCI ranking points they so badly need in order to qualify teams and quotes for world championships.
“I’ve seen Ciarán McKenna make a point about the national teams so it’d be great to see them back because their existence is not just about budget.
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“We’re 20 years on from when I was racing and Cycling Ireland has become a much larger organisation with access to increased funding.
“Tommy Evans and Philip Cassidy talked about sending teams to the UK and that’s a great starting point, it’s not a hugely costly thing to do when you consider it is just boat tickets, diesel, people’s time and accommodation.
“When we were doing it, no one complained about the travel; we travelled in the federation’s car up to Stranraer and to the north tip of Scotland for a two-day.
“We did it and we enjoyed it and some of us benefited from it and at the end of the day, no matter if you won the stage or whatever, you were returning the jersey.
“The riders respected the shoestring budget, it was a good bit of organisation and not just a free-for-all but it was cleverly done. I’d like to see that back again.”
McQuaid added it would be out of the question to ask a talented Irish rider to contribute towards travel to the UK when Cycling Ireland need to develop riders and then give them the opportunity to qualify for the the U23 Worlds, and the likes.
He believed the focus on track racing in recent years had resulted in Cycling Ireland not having a larger road programme in place.
He also said while Irish teams could be sent abroad at very little expenditure, the riders should not be saddled with the cost. However, he suggested the clubs have a responsibility too.
“In terms of clubs, there are some that have a kitty and sometimes they’d struggle to spend it," offered McQuaid.
“I think it’d be great if a club took the initiative to put a team or joint team together and started taking that boat to Holyhead and getting into these UK races.
“A lot of what Tommy Evans and Philip Cassidy said was true; our standard here is starting to dwindle because guys don’t have the chance to race at a higher level than what we have.
“Everyone keeps referring to the distances and in the UK they’re all 160k in a big field and that’s what our guys need.
“These may not even be UCI races and it’s really not just a question of cost– but whether the riders believe they’re of the standard.
“Preferably, I’d like to see riders aged 25, 26 years old and younger, with an experienced road captain, given the opportunity to race across the water or a slightly longer journey to the north west of France. If not, they’ll never progress.”
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