Four riders have been selected to represented Ireland at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in France in two weeks time.
Recently crowned elite women's national champion, Esther Wong, will represent Ireland in the women’s U23 race. Wong made her debut for Ireland late last year at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Dublin.
She was the best Irish finisher at the World Cup event in the Irish capital and the weekend before last, in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, she won the nationals ahead of junior Greta Lawless (Team WORC) and Hannah McClorey (Doltcini-Cycle Division).
As well as Wong riding the U23 race at the Worlds the weekend after next, Ireland will also have three riders in the male junior race; the three top finishers from the recent National Cyclocross Championships.
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Conor Murphy (U19 Academy Région Sud powered by Giant), who won his second Irish junior crown in Ballinasloe, will once again represent Ireland in Lievin, in the junior men’s race.
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Murphy represented Ireland at last year’s Worlds in the Czech Republic, where a mechanical upset his strong start.
More recently Murphy has represented Ireland at World Cup level, including finishing top of the Irish riders at the UCI World Cup in Dublin in December, and a very impressive 16th place at the World Cup in Besançon, France.
Murphy will be joined in the men’s junior race at the French Worlds by Curtis McKee (Spellman Dublin Port) and Ryan Daly (Scott Racing IRL).
Both McKee and Daly have been very impressive during the winter cyclocross season; coming into the junior ranks, from the U16 category, and immediately making their mark.
McKee has won a number of events at home, taken silver in the nationals and also ridden the junior race yesterday at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm.
Daly pushed McKee very closely in the silver-bronze battle at the nationals last weekend and he rode very strongly when he went to Europe for a number of UCI-ranked cyclocross races over the festive period.
