Sub-zero temperatures and freezing fog are forecast by Met Éireann for Dublin this weekend when the UCI Cyclocross World Cup comes to the Irish capital. While the course was muddy in recent days after rain, the weather has changed significantly since then, with conditions drier and the temperatures plummeting.
The weather has already led to flight cancellations and delays at Dublin Airport as planes had to be de-iced, some for a second time after their wings froze on the runway. It is hoped those travel problems will not impact riders or cycling fans coming to Dublin for the World Cup. Some sport, including horse racing and field sports, have seen some fixtures cancelled due to the impact of the weather.
Late on Thursday night hail and snow fell, and quickly froze, in Dublin resulting in icy conditions, which only partially thawed through Friday. And now Met Éireann says the very cold conditions are due to persist through the weekend and well into next week. If so, and the ground is firm rather than muddy on the largely flat World Cup course, a faster race than expected could be in store.
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That would even things up in the men's race between fancied riders Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). Van Aert, a much heavier and more powerful rider, would be expected to go much better in the mud than Pidcock.
However, even if it is very cold, parts of the course could still become muddy and there is also a long sand section to contend with. Irish cyclocross champion Chris McGlinchey reported muddy patches today on the course and he is predicting some sections will be very muddy on Sunday, despite the expected freezing conditions.
For tomorrow, Saturday, when support races - senior and youth - take place at the World Cup venue on the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown, conditions were forecast to be cold again. Met Éireann is forecasting frost and ice lingering in parts" while "patches of freezing fog may linger also". It was expected to be largely dry, though isolated wintery showers were possible.
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Top temperatures were expected to be between 0 and +3 Celsius, in light west to northwest breezes, with conditions expected to be "coldest where fog lingers".
Met Éireann's forecast for Dublin on Saturday night is for "dense freezing fog" in places with a "widespread sharp to severe frost expected and icy stretches" in "lowest temperatures of minus 5 to zero degrees". Those conditions would ensure a frozen World Cup course from early on Sunday morning.
On Sunday across the country Met Éireann forecasts "temperatures struggling to rise above freezing... with frost, ice and freezing fog persisting throughout the day". It would also be "mainly dry apart from isolated showers in some coastal margins". Highest temperatures of minus 2 to plus 2 degrees were also expected in light, variable breezes.
Meanwhile, Irish elite men's cyclocross champion McGlinchey (Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus) has been riding the course in Blanchardstown ahead of his appearance in the men's race on Sunday. He will be part of the three-man Irish team with Dean Harvey (Spellman Dublin Port) and Darnell Moore (Caldwell Cycles).
"I think it's a course of two halves," he said after riding around today. "The front section of the course is quite dry at the moment and really fast, it's going to be really high-paced. And then the back part of the course is far more technical. It's a bit softer in a few spots so it's going to get quite muddy. And then there's the sand section as well, it's going to suck the legs every lap."
McGlinchey said the sand section would be very challenging, especially "as the legs fatigue". He also believed the back end of the course would get so muddy it would force riders to run, which could decide the outcome of the men's race.
He described as a "once in a lifetime thing" getting to represent Ireland in a World Cup race on home soil and he planed to "cherish" every moment. "It'll be interesting, it'll be exciting. Being able to race with the likes of Pidcock and Van Aert; it's going to be an experience. I'm not sure I'll see much of them during the race but it will be really cool."
