Sixth for Boylan in Omnium at European Track Championship

Robyn Stewart Betters Irish Record in Paris, Boylan Finishes Strongly in Omnium

On the penultimate day of racing at the 2016 UEC European Track Championships in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome in Paris Lydia Boylan performed outstandingly in the Women’s Omnium, finishing in 6^th place, in a race where she lapped the field in the final Points race. Robyn Stewart finished 13^th in the Women’s Sprint with a time of 11.590 seconds, a time more than .6 of a second faster than the existing record of 12.25 Unfortunately only the top 12 progressed to the knock out rounds. In the Women’s Omnium Marc Potts was also in action today, finishing 12^th in the Points Race and 21^st in the Individual Pursuit with a time of 4.33.877. While the European Track Championships this year feature many newer members on the Cycling Ireland track programme, Ireland has already seen success, with Anna Turvey winning Bronze in the Individual Pursuit yesterday. The championships run from 19^th – 23^rd October in Paris.

Boylan attributed her result to her legs today saying “I was on a good day today. The whole day I had really good legs and felt on top of the gears, so all I had to worry about was just doing the right thing in the race. A few things clicked into place today; the elimination race was the best that I have ridden. And that’s the first time that I’ve taken a solo lap in the Points Race! At first I was just going for the sprint points, but then the bunch sat up and I went for the lap. I worked hard to get to the end of the bunch, but the lead riders were marking each other, so I knew I could stay in when I got there. After finishing 16^th and 17^th in this event last year, it’s great to finish 6^th – my confidence is really growing in it.”

Cycling Ireland Technical Director Brian Nugent is pleased with how the riders performed today, and is happy with
how the week has been going; “Lydia performed great today – she rode well in all four events, and was just super in the last one when she lapped the field alone. She’s really coming into her own at this level, sixth in Europe is a great result in this very competitive Olympic event. The new format is working well for us.”

Yesterday saw Ireland on the podium, with Anna Turvey winning bronze in the Individual Pursuit. Nugent was impressed with her race, and felt the whole team competed well; “It was great watching Anna win the bronze – she came straight from the Worlds at Doha to race at these championships and adapted extremely well. After her strong ride in the Team Pursuit we knew a top five performance was on the cards, but getting on the podium was a real bonus.

“Yesterday was a busy one for us, and we had a string of great performances, Shannon [McCurley] was tenth in the Keirin and she raced well –her best result at this level, and it’s a great way to open her campaign for Tokyo. I was really impressed with Felix [English] in the Men’s Omnium to finish 7^th. He’s very competitive at this level now.”

Tomorrow is the final day of racing with Eoin Mullen competing in the Keirin. For the first time Ireland will be entering teams in the Madison, with Lydia Boylan and Lydia Gurley competing in the women’s event and Felix English and Marc Potts in the men’s event. The European Track Championships have been taking place since Wednesday 19^th October.