A 15-strong Irish team has been named for the European Championships in Germany next month, with riders selected for the road, track and BMX disciplines.
While Irish BMX riders do not normally compete at this level, the sport has enjoyed a rebirth in Ireland over the last decade and now Ryan Henderson, from Belfast, gets the nod for the BMX freestyle title race in Munich in what is an historic first.
Sam Bennett will be back in action in the green of Ireland in the men’s road race with his Bora-hansgrohe lead-out man Ryan Mullen also in the line-up. New Irish road race champion, Rory Townsend, also makes the cut with his WiV SunGod team mate Matthew Teggart while Coppi e Bartali and Tour de Hongrie winner Eddie Dunbar completes the team.
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Ben Healy, who has been very impressive in the his first season at WorldTour level for EF Education-EasyPost, has decided to focus exclusively on the TT in Munich, while Ryan Mullen will also ride the race against the clock.
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The Europeans take place in Munich from August 11th to 21st with the men’s road race set to be contested over 209.4km from Murnau a Staffelsee to Munich, with five city-based laps of 13km to complete at the end.
In the women’s road race, new Irish road race champion Alice Sharpe and her IBCT team mate Mia Griffin are selected for Ireland. The duo rode very well in the recent Baloise Ladies Tour (2.1), where they both took top 10 placings on stages.
The women’s road race will be 108.3km, also finishing in Munich on the same city 13km loop, which will be completed twice by the women. Top Irish TT riders Kelly Murphy and Joanna Patterson are selected for the 24km TT after they finished 1st and 2nd in the elite women’s TT at the National Road Championships.
Sharpe, Griffin and Murphy will also road the track at the Europeans as will Lara Gillespie and Olympian Emily Kay. Gllespie is on the comeback from injury and took several 5th places at the U23 European Track Championships in the last week in Anadia Portugal.
JB Murphy, who took a bronze medal in the scratch race last year at the Europeans, where the team pursuit women also took bronze, is also selected, as is sprinter Orla Walsh. Cycling Ireland has not yet stated the specific events each of the track riders will compete in.
European Championships | Team Ireland
- Men’s Road Race: Sam Bennett, Ryan Mullen, Eddie Dunbar, Rory Townsend, Matthew Taggart
- Men’s Time Trial: Ben Healy, Ryan Mullen
- Women’s Road Race: Alice Sharpe, Mia Griffin
- Women’s Time Trial: Kelly Murphy, Joanna Patterson
- Men’s Track: JB Murphy
- Women’s Track: Alice Sharpe, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy, Emily Kay, Lara Gillespie, Orla Walsh
- BMX Freestyle Park: Ryan Henderson
