Expanded Ireland Team Head to Switzerland 

Paracycling Squad Target More Medals in World Cup 

Buoyed by the performance of the squad in the first round of the Road World Cup last weekend, the Cycling Ireland Paracycling squad heads to round two in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland this weekend.

Following Colin Lynch's victory in the C2 Time Trial and Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal's tandem time trial bronze at round one in Maniago, Italy last weekend, the squad is targeting further top performances this weekend.

Team coach Neill Delahaye has assembled an expanded squad at close to full strength for the trip to Switzerland in what is another opportunity to accumulate points towards the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

This weekend's second world cup outing on the road is also a key preparation event for the Paracycling World Championships at the end of July.

Brimful of confidence following last weekend's time trial gold medal in Maniago, Colin Lynch will again ride against the watch and the road race in the C2 category.

Lynch's win and eighth place in the road race last week mean he is within touching distance of the overall World Cup leader's jersey and will be focused on producing another consistent run to annexe the jersey this weekend.

Katie George Dunlevy is partnered by Fiona Guihen in both road race and time trial following last weekend's third place finish in the timed event.

Dunlevy has recovered sufficiently from the crash that ended her road race in Italy and will be looking forward to developing her partnership with Guihen in McCrystal's absence.

Double Paralympic champion Mark Rohan returns to the squad this weekend as he ramps up preparation ahead of the world championships in the ultra competitive H2 category.

Rohan will be looking forward to varied terrain for the two road events in Switzerland where the flat time trial course contrasts with a hilly and very challenging road race circuit.

Also returning to the team is double world road paracycling champion champion Eoghan Clifford.

The C3 category rider from Galway is less than a year into his paracycling odyssey and is already one of the most decorated riders in the squad.

Completing the lineup for Yverdon-les-Bains is Paralympic bronze medallist James Brown and his tandem pilot Bryan McCrystal. The pairing is entered in the time trial only.

Team Coach Neill Delahaye: "This is a main squad event for us and after last week's performances we're looking forward we're looking forward to another opportunity to compete against the world's best in Switzerland.

"The organisers have varied the parcours for the time trial and road race events which will make it a very interesting challenge for all the riders.

"The pan flat time trial course gives our riders the opportunity to be competitive in an event which we traditionally target and put a lot of work into with specific training while the road race course includes a three kilometre climb which will ask a lot of all the riders particularly the hand cyclists.

"We're hoping that our tandems can challenge for top five positions while the solo riders will be aiming for podium finishes, particularly in the time trials.

"This is a key event in our preparation for the world championships and is, of course, very important in the accumulation of points towards Rio next year.

"Katie's recovering fast from her crash in Maniago and the rest of the squad have been training hard and are looking forward to delivering the best performance they can on the day so I'm happy that we're on the right trajectory towards the world championships and beyond."

Irish Team for 2015 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup Round Two
 
Mark Rohan, MH2 Time Trial, MH1 Road Race, from Ballinahown, Co. Westmeath
Colin Lynch, MC2 Time Trial, MC2 Road Race, from Cheshire in England
James Brown & Bryan McCrystal, MB Time Trial, MB Road Race, Brown from Stonehouse in England, McCrystal from Dundalk, Co. Louth
Katie-George Dunlevy & Fiona Guihen, WB Time Trial, WB Road Race, Dunlevy from Maidenhead in England, Guihen from Navan, Co. Meath
Eoghan Clifford, MC3 Time Trial, MC3 Road Race, from Galway Bay CC, Co. Galway
 
Manager/Coach
Neill Delahaye
Mechanic
Gerry Beggs
 
PROVISIONAL Competition Schedule - Irish team at UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup Round Two
(All times quoted are Irish time; schedule may be subject to change)