Irish pursuit teams advance and crash at Euro Track Champs

Nothing wrong with that: The Irish women's team pursuiters on their way to advancing at the European Track Championships, a solid result that guarantees them Olympic qualification points.

By Brian Canty

The Irish men’s team pursuit squad did not enjoy the start they were hoping for on the opening night of action at the European Track Championships in Guadeloupe as they were listed an non-finishers in the 4km race.

The team, made up of 2013 world scratch race champion Martyn Irvine, recent world U23 time-trial silver medal winner Ryan Mullen and track newcomers Javan Nulty and Cormac Clarke came into the event brimming with confidence.

But they suffered disastrous luck when they crashed on the closing lap. They were not given a finishing time.

At the time of writing, Cycling Ireland was unable to say what riders had crashed and the extent of their injuries, if any.

However, the federation is working to get that information and we will bring that to you when we have it, with the delay due to the time difference.

With 13 nations in action in the qualifying event, only the fastest eight advanced to the next stage, with Great Britain setting the fastest time in 4:12:022.

They were the only nation to go over 57kph. Action resumes in that discipline tonight at 11.30pm Irish time.

The Irish women’s team had a better time, and despite being very inexperienced in the team pursuit, were 8th fastest of the 12-team field.

They will meet Italy in the next round of the competition, which takes on a knock out format.

The Irish quartet of Lydia Boylan, Lauren Creamer, Caroline Ryan and Melanie Spath clocked a time of 4:52:221 for the 4km event. In the end, they were .178 seconds faster than the Belarusian squad who were ninth.

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The Irish will have learnt an awful lot last night and definitely will not be overawed by the occasion or the challenge posed by the Italians tonight. The Italians went around three seconds faster in qualifying.

Last night’s performance guaranteed the Irish Olympic qualifying points for Rio de Janeiro in 2016, which was the stated goal at the outset of this campaign.

The four round 1 heats start at 11pm Irish time tonight and after that a decision will be made by Cycling Ireland about who will ride the women’s and men’s points races.

Speaking after qualifying on the outdoor velodrome in Guadeloupe, Cycling Ireland’s head coach Brian Nugent described as "really solid" the ride of both teams.

"The women’s team proved their potential by making it through to the final rounds tomorrow," he said speaking last night.

"The men were so unlucky. They were on such a good ride, placing in the top six until a tangle in the final corner; remarkable for a new team.

"There’s so much more to come from both teams. It’s incredibly exciting for the future.”