The Irish team for the Olympic Games, assuming we qualify, will start to take shape sooner than expected as the qualification process may open at next year's UCI World Track Championships.
And because there are strict criteria for even entering Worlds events, our best track riders will need to hit the ground running in the weeks ahead.
That all means the composition of the Irish team selected later this month for the European Track Championships in Konya, Turkey, in February looks set to be crucial to Ireland's Olympic chances at the Los Angeles Games in July 2028.
It may seem like there is currently a long way to go to Los Angeles, but Cycling Ireland high performance director, Iain Dyer, has explained why the selection of the team for the Europeans in the next few weeks is so important in the context of the Olympics.
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“Our sights are now firmly set on qualification for LA 2028," he said. "But with the UCI still to confirm our Olympic qualification pathway there’s a very real possibility that a longer process this time will see results from the 2026 World Championships included in our Olympic ranking.
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"This makes the European Championships in Konya pivotal as the regulations stipulate that, in order to participate in a specific event at the World Championships, we must race it in the Continental championships of that season.
"So, without doing an event at the Euros, we would be ineligible to do that event at the Worlds, and any hope of Olympic qualification would be over before it begins. We need to be prepared in case this situation occurs.
"(This year) saw a number of development riders break through into the national team for their first senior championships, which led to a solid year of building race experience and performances through to the World Championships in Chile for those riders.
"And let’s not forget winning the European Championships in the elimination race proved to be a great springboard for Lara’s season on both road and track culminating in a World title, so we are looking forward to kick-starting our 2026 campaign in Konya next year.”
Cycling Ireland has now opened the expressions of interest process for the Europeans in Turkey, from February 1st to 5th. The expression of interest form, which must be completed by all riders, is available at this link.
Candidate athletes have until midnight on Monday, December 15th, to submit their expressions of interest, and selection will take place in the days that follow.
