Irvine Climbs to 10th Overall, Ryan lying 10th after Strong Start to Day in European Championships
After a tough two days of racing in the Men’s Omnium at the 2014 UEC Track Elite European Championships in Baie-Mahault, Guadeloupe, Martyn Irvine has climbed two places to finish 10th overall. The six event competition spans two days, and while Irvine started day two lying in 12th place, a strong Kilo Time Trial effort and solid Points Race earned him two places, finishing in 10th place after the final round. In the Women’s Omnium Caroline Ryan started the day well, and starts day two in tenth place overall. These Championships mark the first step in the Rio Olympic Qualification Process for the Irish Team, with riders competing across Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines in the French Caribbean Velodrome. The European Championships run from Wednesday the 15th October to Sunday the 19th October.
Also in action was Ryan Mullen in the Men’s Individual Pursuit, where he finished in 12th position. Last month Mullen stormed to a silver medal in the U23 Men’s Time Trial at the UCI Road World Championships, however his performance was slightly below par. Both Mullen and Irvine were involved in a crash in the Team Pursuit on Wednesday evening that took more out of them than hoped.
Head Coach Brian Nugent said “Martyn worked really hard to get himself back into the top 10 today, and he did that successfully. 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 all were determined to race. They’ll recover and they’ll be good for Mexico (World Cup next month). They came here in super form, and that will return with rest and recovery.”
Caroline Ryan has had a better start to the Championships, starting with an impressive 8th place with a newly formed Team Pursuit quartet on Thursday. In day one of the Women’s Omnium yesterday, Ryan showed her good form with two seventh place finishes, in the Scratch Race and the Individual Pursuit. In the third round the Elimination Race caught her out early, dropping her overall position to tenth.
Nugent was happy with her progress saying “Caroline rode a superbly tactical scratch race to place 7th in a World Class field. She went to that again to place 7th in the pursuit, moving her to 5th overall. Caroline made an error in the elimination and she paid the price for that and ended the day 10th in the standings. She’s push hard again tomorrow to gain some ground.”
Today will see Ryan in action in day 2 of the Women’s Omnium, where she will be determined to gain a few places. Melanie Spath will be competing in the Women’s Individual Pursuit, while both Shannon McCurley and Eoin Mullen will be racing in the Keirin. The UEC Track Elite European Championships run from the 15th – 19th October.
RESULTS
Men’s Omnium Overall:
1 VIVIANI Elia ITALY 219
2 DIBBEN Jonathan GREAT BRITAIN 198
3 ELORRIAGAZUBIAUR Unai SPAIN 179
10 IRVINE Martyn IRELAND 123
Men’s Individual Pursuit:
1 68 TENNANT Andrew GBR 4:32.6860
2 100 EVTUSHENKO Alexander RUS 4:34.9540
3 60 THIELE Kersten GER 4:32.8780
12 76 MULLEN Ryan IRL 4:44.800
Women’s Omnium Standing Day 1:
1 D'HOORE Jolien BELGIUM 112
2 WILD Kirsten NETHERLANDS 108
3 TROTT Laura GREAT BRITAIN 108
10 RYAN Caroline IRELAND 66
| Day 5 – Sunday 19th October 2014 |
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| 15.00 | Shannon McCurley | Women’s Keirin Round 1 |
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| 15.16 | Eoin Mullen | Men’s Keirin Round 1 |
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| 15.32 | Melanie Spath | Women’s Individual Pursuit Qualifier 3km |
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| 16.22 | Caroline Ryan | Women Omnium IV 500m TT |
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| 16.52 | Shannon McCurley | Women’s Keirin Repechages Round 1 |
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| 17.08 | Eoin Mullen | Men’s Keirin Repechages Round 1 |
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| 22.00 | Shannon McCurley | Women’s Keirin Semi Final |
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| 22.08 | Eoin Mullen | Men’s Keirin Semi Final |
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| 22.16 | Caroline Ryan | Women Omnium V Flying Lap |
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| 22.52 | Melanie Spath | Women’s Individual Pursuit 3-4 and 1-2 Finals 3km |
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| 23.13 | Shannon McCurley | Women’s Keirin Final Places 7 to 12 and 1 to 6 |
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| 23.21 | Eoin Mullen | Men’s Keirin Final Places 7 to 12 and 1 to 6 |
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| 01.04 | Caroline Ryan | Women Omnium VI Points Race 24km |
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