Spot the Irish jerseys: Lydia Boylan and Lauren Creamer in points race action at the European Championships in Guadeloupe.
By Brian Canty
The Irish women’s pursuit team has broken the national record at the European Track Championships in Guadeloupe.
Making their debut at a major event the quarter of Caroline Ryan, Lauren Creamer, Mel Spath and Lydia Boylan scorched to a national record in the 4km event in a time of 4:50:218.
They clocked the time in the head to head ride-off against Italy.
While it was not fast enough to go any higher than the 8th place of 13 nations they had secured in the qualifiers, this was still a significant performance for them.
Their progression to the last eight in the competition meant they secured points towards trying to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
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And their breaking of the Irish record is an indication that they are working well as a unit and were not overawed by the occasion or the fact they are a new line up.
It means while their final result of 8th in the race was not earth shattering, they take away very significant positives to build on in the months ahead.
In the men’s scratch race event last night, Javan Nulty and Martyn Irvine were in action for Ireland, with Nulty finishing 17th and Irvine 28th.
Irvine is a former world champion in the event so he will be disappointed with that result, though Nulty banked vital experience at this level.
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Great to see the Irish jersey - sixth from front - in action on the big stage. We've had no medals so far but hopefully that can change.
In the women’s event, Ireland was represented by Creamer and Boylan, who took 21st and 22nd respectively.
Cycling Ireland head coach Brian Nugent singled out the women’s team pursuit squad for praise.
“(They) performed better than anyone could have expected, with three of the four making their debut in this event,” he said.
“Having ridden three rounds in two days, and finishing it off with the quickest ride at the end shows how much they have been learning as they have gone through this competition.”
Today’s action kicks off with Eoin Mullen who will be racing in the men’s sprint, the heats of which were due to span the day.
Martyn Irvine will also be competing in the omnium, an event in which he will be racing throughout the World Cup series in the months ahead in pursuit of Olympic qualifying points.
In the women’s scratch race Shannon McCurley and Boylan will be competing, while Cormac Clarke and Nulty will race in the men’s points race.
The championships began on Wednesday and conclude on Sunday.
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