Sixth for Irvine in Points Race at Track Cycling World Championships, Cali


Irvine Finishes Sixth in Fast Moving Points Race at the World Championships in Colombia


Martyn Irvine finished in sixth place in a thrilling Points Race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Cali, Colombia. Irvine, who won a silver medal in the Scratch Race yesterday, lapped the field once, and won three of the maximum sprint points, to finish 6th in an event where the medals were decided between riders who had gained three laps advantage. Colombia’s Edwin Alcibiaes Avila Vanegas won the World Title, to the delight of the home crowd, with Thomas Scully (NZL) taking Silver ahead of Eloy Teruel Rovira (ESP) in Bronze Medal position.


Speaking after the race Irvine was happy with his Championships, especially considering his recovery from a crash at the Gent Six Day, in November.  “After Gent I did nothing up to the New Year, very little anyway. I’m delighted to be featuring over here; it was great to get on the podium.”


The Scratch Silver Medallist is known for riding an aggressive race, so was not too pleased with how the Points Race panned out saying “In the Scratch Race, I seem to have the knack. I wasn’t really focusing on the Pursuit, but knew I was as good as anyone in the bunch races. The Points wasn’t a great race. I was a passenger for a lot. When I went people wanted to go with me, but it was a stop start race, and I was a bit over-geared. My legs were screaming at me!”


Towards the end of the race Irvine attacked, and gained a lap, before attempting to gain a second lap, as three riders had already lapped the field twice, including Colombian Avila Vanegas, Irvine said “I felt I could do something, but it feels like a bad day when I’m not attacking. If I had taken the lap it could have been a podium, but you can’t win them all. It came back because I wasn’t accelerating, I was just holding on. That was the first World Title for the Colombians here, he is a hero! My ear drums are still hurting from the cheers.”


Tomorrow morning Irvine flies back to his base in Denver, USA, where he will recover before switching his attention to the road. He leaves for the Tour of Taiwan next Wednesday with his Team United Healthcare ProCycling Team. “The focus now is on not getting sick. We did a lot of racing this weekend, I’m going to rest up before flying back. When I get back I get to be normal for a few days. Downtime is key, I will spend some time with Grace. It’d be hard to do this on your own. Then I hit the road again, hopefully I can help the team do something.”


Next up is Caroline Ryan, racing in the 25km Women’s Points Race, which starts at 12.50am Irish time. Ryan won a Bronze Medal in this event at the World Championships in Melbourne in 2012.


The UCI Track Cycling World Championships take place in Cali, Colombia, from the 26th February to the 2nd March 2014.


PHOTOS COURTESY OF GUY SWARBRICK


RESULTS:


Men’s Points Race:

 

GOLD: AVILA VANEGAS Edwin Alcibiades (COL)

SILVER: SCULLY Thomas (NZL)

BRONZE: TERUEL ROVIRA Eloy (ESP)

 

6th IRVINE Martyn (IRL)


SCHEDULE (All times are approximate):

 

Saturday:

9pm Local Time (2am Irish Time): Women’s Points Race, 25km (Caroline Ryan)

 

Official Results Website: www.tissottiming.com    

Official Website: http://www.worldtrackcali2014.com/

Cycling Ireland Website: www.cyclingireland.ie

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/IreCyclingFed or @irecyclingfed