SHANNON McCURLEY
Date of Birth: 26/4/1992
Place of Birth: Victoria, Australia
Shannon McCurley is the first Irish female track cyclist to qualify for the Olympic Games, where she will be competing in the Keirin. Born on the 26th April 1992, Shannon has been representing Ireland since 2011, when she won a bronze medal in the scratch race at the U23 European Track Championships. Ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers, Shannon switched from the more endurance based Scratch Race to the Keirin, which is a sprinter’s discipline. In this event up to seven riders follow a motor-paced bike (derny) around the track in a 2km event, with approximately 700m to go the derny, which had been increasing in speed, pulls off, to allow the riders sprint for the remainder of the race. Shannon was born in Australia to Irish parents, with her father being Belfast born and her mother being from Dublin.
DAN MARTIN
Date of Birth: 20/8/1986
Place of Birth: Birmingham, UK
Dan Martin is an Irish professional road racing cyclist, who races with Etixx-Quickstep. Born on 20th August 1986, Dan specialises in climbing, and has a colourful palmares, including stage wins in the Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France, along being the overall winner in stage races in Poland and Spain. With his accolades including the Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2013 and the Giro di Lombardia (2014) Dan has proven that his is particularly strong when it comes to the long one-day races. Dan comes from good cycling genes – his father, Neil Martin, was a British professional cyclist, and his uncle is Irish legend Stephen Roche.
NICOLAS ROCHE
Date of Birth: 3/7/1984
Place of Birth: Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, France
Nicolas Roche is an Irish professional road racing cyclist, who races with Team Sky. Born on the 3rd July 1984, Nicolas is an all-round cyclist; he is no stranger to top ten finishes in Grand Tours like the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana, which span three weeks. Nicolas is known for his gutsy style of riding and in recent years has been a crucial team mate for some of the best riders in the world like Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. Nicolas has a number of prestigious stage wins to his name, including wins in the Vuelta a Espana and the Tour of Beijing. Nicolas has been representing Ireland at World Championships since he was a junior, and like his cousin Dan Martin, comes from a great cycling family, with his father, Stephen Roche, being a household name.
PHILIP DEIGNAN (Reserve)
Date of Birth: 7/9/1983
Place of Birth: Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Philip Deignan is an Irish professional road racing cyclist, who races with Team Sky. Born on the 7th September 1983, Philip specialises in climbing, and won a stage in the Vuelta a Espana in 2009, along with finishing an impressive 9th overall. He has a string of top ten results in professional races around the world, including 5th in the Tour of Yorkshire this year, showing that his form is good in this Olympic year. Philip competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and has represented Ireland in numerous event since he became a professional cyclist in 2005.