Caroline Ryan is looking to move up the omnium standings but her male team mates are "cut from head to toe"
By Brian Canty
Former world track championships bronze medallist, Caroline Ryan is currently in 10th place after three events of the women’s omnium at the European Track Championships in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
The Irish rider got her campaign underway last night with the 10km scratch race where she finished 7th.
That was followed by the individual pursuit where she was also 7th, with those results putting her 6th overall after two of six events.
However, she slipped back to 10th overall following the elimination race, which was her final event of the day.
She was due back in action later today, Irish time, and will look to improve her overall position.
Advertisement
The remaining events are the 250m flying lap, the 24km points race and the 500m time-trial.
Ryan currently has 66 points accumulated, with Jolien D’Hoore of Belgium leading the way on 112.
Ryan Mullen has been below par at the Europeans, a crash in the team pursuit not helping his cause.
“Caroline rode a superbly tactical scratch race to place seventh in a world class field,” said cycling Ireland head coach Brian Nugent.
Meanwhile, world road championships U23 time-trial silver medallist, Ryan Mullen was also on the boards last night and the 20-year-old went 12th fastest of the 24 competitors in the 4km individual pursuit, clocking a time of 4:44:800.
He started extremely well and led the event for a spell before fading towards the finish.
The reigning national road champion, he has won a European U23 track bronze in this discipline and was 4th in the pursuit at the elite World Track Championships earlier this year.
However, Mullen was one of three Irish fallers in the team pursuit qualifying round in Guadeloupe earlier this week.
He came down with Martyn Irvine and Cormac Clarke on the final bend just after Javan Nulty had been tailed off after burying himself in the final stages in line with the race plan.
Related News
Like team mate Mullen, Martyn Irvine's crash earlier in the week has seen him perform well below his own high standards.
The injuries sustained in that spill appear to have taken their toll on Mullen, who was capable of winning the title at this meeting.
Pursuit gold went to Andy Tennant of Great Britain in a time of 4:32:686, with Alexander Evtuskenko of Russia in silver in a time of 4:34:954 and bronze going to Germany’s Kersten Thiele, who clocked 4:32:878.
The other big Irish hope of the night, Irvine moved up from 13th to 10th overall on the second day of the two-day omnium.
He set a time of 1:06:862 in the men’s kilo TT, which was the 4th event of the omnium. That was good enough for fourth place and pushed him up one place to 12th overall.
That was followed by the flying lap where Irvine clocked a time of 19:254, seeing him nudge further up the standings to 11th.
And he went inside the top 10 overall when he finished 10th in the 40km points race. Like Mullen, Irvine was capable of winning the gold at this meeting, having won omnium bronze in the Europeans last year during an injury hit season. But his crash in the team pursuit looks to have set him back.
Italian rider Elia Viviani took the omnium gold medal. Silver went to Jonathan Dibben of Great Britain while Unai Elorriagazubiaur of Spain took bronze.
“Martyn worked really hard to get himself back into the top 10,” said Nugent.
“He showed real grit to get through the omnium as did Ryan to battle on to race the pursuit today.
"The guys had a major tumble in the team pursuit and they’re cut from head to toe, as you’d expect coming off at 57kmph on a concrete track.
“But there was no talk of giving up or not racing. They were determined to race. They’ll recover and they’ll be good for Mexico,” he added in reference to the World Cup meeting of next month.
“They came here in super form, and that will return with rest and recovery.”
Today, Sunday, on the final day of the campaign, Eoin Mullen and Shannon McCurley were both due in action in round 1 of the keirin while Caroline Ryan completes the second day of the women’s omnium.
Melanie Spath is also in action in the women’s individual pursuit.
Topics
