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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
Silver and Bronze Medals at UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy
By Cycling Ireland
17 Mar 2016,
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Silver and Bronze Medals for Ireland on Opening Day of Para-cycling Track World Championships
Ireland has won two medals on the opening day of the UCI 2016 Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy. In the Men’s C2 Individual Pursuit Colin Lynch finished second in the gold medal ride off against Canada’s Tristen Chernove to win silver, while Eoghan Clifford won bronze in the Men’s C3 Individual Pursuit against Japan’s Masaki Fujita. The results were particularly impressive considering both riders smashed their PBs in the qualifying rounds. The Championships run from Thursday 17th March until Sunday 20th March.
Lynch rode a fantastic pursuit qualifier earlier today to record the second fastest time, finishing the 3km race against the clock in a time of 3.48.573, a time only bettered by newcomer Chernove. In the qualifying rounds Lynch knocked a sensational four seconds off his PB to qualify for the gold medal ride off. Recording the second fastest time of the day ensured he moved ahead of the three medallists from the 2015 World Championships.
“The last week has gone really really well; the form came at exactly the right time. Once we got to the track here in Italy I knew that I was going better than ever before. In training I have been getting the same times as I did at altitude last year, when you are getting that kind of speed you know that everything is going perfectly. It shows that what we are doing is right, my sights are firmly focused on Rio, and this is a combination of four years of hard work. This puts us where we need to be.”
In the Men’s C3 Pursuit Eoghan Clifford repeated his bronze medal win from last year, knocking three seconds off his personal best to get to the medal ride off with a time of 3.35.837. The multiple World Champion qualified for the final as the third fastest rider, and in a trademark move trailed Fujita for the majority of the race, only moving ahead in the final two laps.
Clifford said “I only knew I had the medal at the end, I was behind for most of it, but pegged it back in the last two laps. I didn’t know I had won the medal until I finished the race; even though I had a gap at the end, I had been behind for so long I didn’t know.”
For Clifford the medal was particularly symbolic as he hasn’t had an easy few months. The Galway based rider is a multiple World Champion across the road and track, but has been struggling with a knee injury over the past couple of months as well as juggling the life of an elite athlete with becoming a father for the first time, he said “My confidence has been quite low over the past few months, so I think I contributed least to this medal, it was down to my family, teammates and support staff who have just kept going. On the camps when my times haven’t been good, and my knee was killing me a lot the staff and my teammates gave me confidence. Also I only got to see my daughter three times in the last few months, my wife has been so supportive. This medal, it wasn’t my legs this time; it was my family and team. In a way this medal means more to me than some of the gold medals I won.”
National Performance Coach Neill Delahaye was delighted with the team saying “It’s great to see hard work rewarded. To deliver two PBs in qualification, I couldn’t have asked for more. They squeezed everything out of themselves.”
Tomorrow is a full day for the Irish team, with all riders in action. The tandems will be competing in the Individual Pursuit, while Clifford will be looking to defend his World Title in the Scratch Race. The UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships take place from the 17-20 March in Montichiari, Italy.
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March 16th
Medal Guaranteed for Lynch and Clifford to Race for Bronze at Para-cycling Track World Championships
Ireland is guaranteed at least one medal on the opening day of the UCI 2016 Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy. In the Men’s C2 Individual Pursuit Colin Lynch qualified to the gold medal ride off against Canada’s Tristen Chernove after finishing as the second fastest qualifier in the opening rounds. This strong start to the Irish Para-cyclist’s World Championship campaign was followed by Eoghan Clifford who finished the Men’s C3 Individual Pursuit as the third fastest qualifier. He will compete against Japan’s Masaki Fujita for the bronze medal later today. The Finals take place at approximately 5pm Irish time today. The Championships run from Thursday 17th March until Sunday 20th March.
Ireland has confirmed a strong competitive team for the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy which take place from 17-20 March. Once again Ireland will be entering four bikes in the championships across both sprint and endurance events. This year the focus of all riders will be on the Individual Pursuit, with 2015 World Champion in the Scratch Race, Eoghan Clifford also looking to defend his title. The decorated team includes former World Champion Colin Lynch, multiple-World Champion Eoghan Clifford and multiple World Medallists Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal on the women’s tandem. The new male tandem pairing of Peter Ryan and Seán Hahessy will be taking part in their first major championship together and will also be ones to watch. The Championships run from Thursday 17th March until Sunday 20th March.
The main focus for the Irish team will be on the endurance events, in particular the Individual Pursuit. This timed efforts against the clock is an event Team Ireland will target. All bikes will compete in the Pursuit, with Lynch and Clifford also competing in the Scratch Race, in the same Men’s C1-3 event. Last year Clifford surprised the field in this event by attacking with 25 laps to go, lapping the field to win the gold medal and world title. Both tandems will be competing in the Kilo Time Trial, which is a four lap race against the clock, and Dunlevy and McCrystal will also compete in the Sprint.
With the Irish Para-cycling team currently completing a block of training at the Cycling Ireland base in Palma, Mallorca, National Performance Coach Neill Delahaye is happy with how the training has been going, saying
“We are at the end of a very demanding training phase. This year’s camps have ramped up in intensity, as is to be expected in a Paralympic year, and the whole team has coped well with the extra load. They are now ready to give a good account of themselves in Montichiari. The riders have committed fully and put in a lot of hard work to get themselves in shape for these World Championships. Our main focus is on the endurance events but this year we will also be participating in some of the sprint events in order to make the most of the opportunity the championships provide as an intensive competitive training block. These World Championships are also the last UCI Nation ranking event counting for the Rio Paralympic Games. The team here are really motivated to put in some strong performances to help Ireland qualify as many bikes as possible for the Games.”
This is the last competition on the Paracycling calendar that offers qualification points for the Paralympic Games in Rio. The Irish team have a few days off before travelling to Italy on the Sunday 13th March. The World Championships take place in Velodromo Montichiari, Italy from the 17th – 20th March.
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