MEDAL ALERT: Silver for Lynch Bronze for Clifford

Silver and Bronze Medals for Ireland on Opening Day of Para-cycling Track World Championships

Ireland has won two medals on the opening day of the UCI 2016 Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy. In the Men’s C2 Individual Pursuit Colin Lynch finished second in the gold medal ride off against Canada’s Tristen Chernove to win silver, while Eoghan Clifford won bronze in the Men’s C3 Individual Pursuit against Japan’s Masaki Fujita. The results were particularly impressive considering both riders smashed their PBs in the qualifying rounds. The Championships run from Thursday 17^th March until Sunday 20^th March.

Lynch rode a fantastic pursuit qualifier earlier today to record the second fastest time, finishing the 3km race against
the clock in a time of 3.48.573, a time only bettered by newcomer Chernove. In the qualifying rounds Lynch knocked a sensational four seconds off his PB to qualify for the gold medal ride off. Recording the second fastest time of the day ensured he moved ahead of the three medallists from the 2015 World Championships.

“The last week has gone really really well; the form came at exactly the right time. Once we got to the track here in Italy I knew that I was going better than ever before. In training I have been getting the same times as I did at altitude last year, when you are getting that kind of speed you know that everything is going perfectly. It shows that what we are doing is right, my sights are firmly focused on Rio, and this is a combination of four years of hard work. This puts us where we need to be.”

In the Men’s C3 Pursuit Eoghan Clifford repeated his bronze medal win from last year, knocking three seconds off his personal best to get to the medal ride off with a time of 3.35.837. The multiple World Champion qualified for the final as the third fastest rider, and in a trademark move trailed Fujita for the majority of the race, only moving ahead in the final two laps.

Clifford said “I only knew I had the medal at the end, I was behind for most of it, but pegged it back in the last two laps. I didn’t know I had won the medal until I finished the race; even though I had a gap at the end, I had been behind for so long I didn’t know.”

For Clifford the medal was particularly symbolic as he hasn’t had an easy few months. The Galway based rider is a multiple World Champion across the road and track, but has been struggling with a knee injury over the past couple of months as well as juggling the life of an elite athlete with becoming a father for the first time, he said “My confidence has been quite low over the past few months, so I think I contributed least to this medal, it was down to my family, teammates and support staff who have just kept going. On the camps when my times haven’t been good, and my knee was killing me a lot the staff and my teammates gave me confidence. Also I only got to see my daughter three times in the last few months, my wife has been so supportive. This medal, it wasn’t my legs this time; it was my family and team. In a way this medal means more to me than some of the gold medals I won.”

National Performance Coach Neill Delahaye was delighted with the team saying “It’s great to see hard work rewarded. To deliver two PBs in qualification, I couldn’t have asked for more. They squeezed everything out of themselves.”

Tomorrow is a full day for the Irish team, with all riders in action. The tandems will be competing in the Individual Pursuit, while Clifford will be looking to defend his World Title in the Scratch Race. The UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships take place from the 17-20 March in Montichiari, Italy.