While the European Championships will be forgotten quickly by the Irish, there were plenty of good experiences to take away for the future.
By Brian Canty
The 12-strong Irish team brought its European Track Championships campaign to a close in Guadeloupe last night, leaving the French Caribbean with no medals.
It was a largely experimental team, with several riders making their debuts at this level including Thomas Fallon, Javan Nulty, Lauren Creamer, Lydia Boylan and Mel Spath.
And while the Irish travel away with no silverware, those new to this stage will take a huge amount of experience from the five-day campaign.
That fact will hopefully create a solid foundation on which to progress quickly, with qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics now set to intensify.
Caroline Ryan, a bronze medallist in the World Track Championships points race in 2012, finished a respectable 7th in the omnium last night at the conclusion of the remaining three events.
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In the 500m TT, Ryan was well below par and came over the line in 16th place in a time of 39:01. That saw her drop down to 13th in the overall standings.
But she went better in the flying lap; stopping the watch at 21:399 while also riding solidly in the points race, taking 13th there.
In the women’s keirin, Australian-based Shannon McCurley finished fourth in her heat which was good enough for her to progress to the repechage round.
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Eoin Mullen was also 4th in his keirin heat, which meant he also advanced. However, both McCurley and Mullen went no further after third and fifth place finishes respectively.
Martyn Irvine was one of three Irish men to fall heavily in the team pursuit, but they should bounce back quickly.
In the women’s 3km individual pursuit, former national road race champion Mel Spath clocked a time of 4:03:920 which was good enough for 16th place.
One of two standout performances from the Irish at the championships was the 8th place for the new women’s pursuit team; whipping around the 4km race in a new national record time.
Shannon McCurley secured the best individual result of the team when she took 7th in the scratch race.
Ireland’s two biggest hopes of a medal, Irvine and Mullen were left badly injured when they came down with Cormac Clarke in the team pursuit on the opening day of competition on Wednesday.
While they battled on, they went on to perform well below their best, with their campaign effectively derailed by their high speed smash onto the concrete outdoor track.
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