Cycling Ireland’s high performance director, Iain Dyer, has praised the determination of the Irish track riders for qualifying for the Olympics despite the absence of an indoor velodrome in Ireland.
While an international-standard indoor velodrome has been promised for many years, and planning permission has been granted for one on the Sport Ireland Campus, in west Dublin, there is no sign of construction commencing.
The funding for the project is not yet in place and given the lingering delays, doubts will soon begin to emerge about whether it will be open for 2028 Olympic hopefuls to train on.
“We are very proud to see this team selected to represent Ireland in Paris at the Olympic Games,” Dyer said of team pursuiters Lara Gillespie, Alice Sharpe, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and reserve Erin Creighton.
“It’s a testimony to their hard work and commitment, and the support they’ve had from the high-performance unit that they’ve been able to overcome the absence of an indoor velodrome in Ireland, and qualify as one of the top 10 teams in the world.”
One of the riders all set for Paris, Sharpe, said she was delighted the team had qualified, especially as getting to Paris had been a long-term goal.
“It’s really special, it’s been a long-term goal of Cycling Ireland and us as a team of girls. For it to actually come true, and to be weeks away from going to Paris, is really really special,” she said.
The Olympic Games in Paris will run from July 24th to August 11th, with the opening ceremony taking place on July 26th.
Women’s Team Pursuit
- Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Alice Sharpe, Kelly Murphy, Erin Creighton
Women’s Omnium
Women’s Madison
- Alice Sharpe, Lara Gillespie
.
.
.
#Iain #Dyer #praises #Irish #riders #reaching #Olympics #lack #velodrome
Source link
