Broken Collar Bone for Martyn Irvine

Crash in Omnium Opener Forces Irvine Out of First World Cup of the Season

Martyn Irvine suffered a blow in last night’s opening event in the Men’s Omnium when a six bike pile up in the Scratch Race forced the World Champion out of the event with a broken collar bone. Competing in the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, the Irish man was racing in the closing laps of the scratch race when the crash forced three riders out of the competition. With this being the first World Cup of the season, and the second qualifying event for the 2016 Olympic Games, this forced withdrawal denies Irvine valuable qualifying points for Rio. Caroline Ryan was also in action in the Women’s Omnium, where she had an outstanding opening day, finishing 6^th in the Individual Pursuit. Ryan now lies in 7^th position overall going into day two. The World Cup runs from 7^th – 9^th November.

The Omnium is a six event competition, with riders gathering points based on their finishing positions throughout the six events over two days. With this being one of the few Olympic events, and an event in which Irvine competed at the 2012 Olympic Games, it has been a focus for the Irish team. The qualification process for the Olympic Games begins two years out from the Olympics, and last month’s European Track Championships in Guadeloupe was the first event with Olympic qualifying points on offer. Further points are gathered throughout the World Cup Series and World Championships between now and summer 2016. However, in order to compete in the World Cup Series, riders must first qualify through a series of smaller UCI qualifying events across the world, including the International GP hosted by the Cycling Ireland Track Commission at Sundrive Velodrome. Martyn Irvine and Caroline Ryan are the two Irish riders who have qualified for the 2014/5 World Cup Series.

In the Women’s Omnium Ryan had a superb opening day, finishing in 12^th place in both the Scratch Race and the unpredictable Elimination Race. With the Individual Pursuit Ryan finished in an impressive 6^th place, with a time of 3.34.885, just outside her National Record. Her strong and consistent performance puts her in 7^th place going into day two of the Omnium, with the 500m sprint, Flying Lap and Points Race left today.

Sprint specialist Eoin Mullen was also racing last night, in the highly competitive Men’s Keirin. In the first round Mullen was relegated to 6^th position, and in the first round of the repechage he finished in 4^th place. With only the winner from both heats proceeding to the next rounds, Mullen did not advance. Today he will be competing in the Men’s Sprint, while Shannon McCurley competes in the Women’s Keirin.

This is the first round in the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Series, and runs from the 7^th – 9^th November. 

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS (All Irish Times):