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Last Updated: 11 Jul 2019 - 11:47:03 AM |
Dublin Track Cycling International Track Weekend Report
By Luke Ginnell, Press Officer, Dublin Track Cycling International
7 Jul 2019,
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DAY 2 Report
IRISHMAN EOIN MULLEN IMPRESSES IN ELITE COMPANY AT DUBLIN TRACK CYCLING INTERNATIONAL
Olympian Jason Kenny swept the boards in an intriguing men’s sprint competition, while there were also superb wins elsewhere for Ethan Hayter, Julie Leth and Sophie Capewell.
The men’s and women’s sprint and omnium competitions took centre stage on day two of the Dublin Track Cycling International, with a series of hotly contested races playing out under the baking sun at Sundrive Velodrome.
The weather could not have been in starker contrast to the miserable conditions on day one and allowed the riders to leave everything on the track.
Early in the morning, the 200m individual sprint TT saw Olympic gold-medallist Jason Kenny lay down the standard in the men's with a 10.621-second time. Mohamed Shah Firdous of Malaysia took 2nd place and Irish powerhouse Eoin Mullen pulled out a superb 10.812 to nab 3rd.
In the women’s event, track records fell like dominoes. First, Victoria Williamson took Robyn Stewart’s record with a 12.144, before Italy’s Elena Bissolati turned in a 12.143 less than five minutes later.
But the drama wasn’t done there: Britain’s Sophie Capewell hammered out an 11.892, the first ever sub-12-second time for this event at Sundrive, a feat that was quickly repeated when Charlene Du Preez of South Africa came home with 11.936. Capewell’s mark was good enough to take the spoils ahead of Du Preez and Bissolati.
Then, Aran Islander Mullen showed his power again in the sprint competition, holding off some strong opposition and only being narrowly edged out in the sprint semi-final by Asian champion Mohammad Awang.
But the diminutive Malaysian flyer couldn’t hold off the sheer strength of Kenny in the main final – the Briton was the star of the show and displayed exactly why, taking top spot with relative ease. For Mullen, now based in the USA, the end result was a very creditable bronze in an event featuring some world-class talent.
The men’s omnium was won by British prodigy Ethan Hayter, who in truth never looked like losing. German Max Beyer and Dane Niklas Larsen were the best of the rest – Beyer was unlucky to suffer a mechanical when going nicely in the points race, but Hayter was well worth his win.
Taking the women's omnium in fine style was the outstanding Julie Leth (Denmark), who was in control of the competition throughout. Emily Kay turned in a fabulous late-in-the-day performance in the points race to claim silver in front of Germany’s Gudrun Stock, while Ireland's Shannon McCurley tired towards the end of a tough day, having been in a great position prior to the final event.
DAY 1 Report
BRITISH AND DANISH STEAL THE SHOW IN THRILLING DAY AT DUBLIN TRACK CYCLING INTERNATIONAL
There were also impressive showings from Irish riders, with several podiums in the women's events
Grey clouds hung over Sundrive Velodrome on the first morning of the Dublin Track Cycling International, but even occasional rain breaks didn’t deter a high-class field from strutting their stuff.
The men’s elite scratch race was halted due to inclement weather with 12 riders - including world champion Sam Welsford - who had formed a leading group with 13 laps to go subsequently restarting without the rest of the field. After the race resumed, Australian Welsford’s strength showed and he went on to take the win from Oliver Wood and Matthew Walls.
A nasty crash then interrupted the women’s Madison, which resulted in a prolonged break while riders waited for the drizzle to clear. Upon resumption, the powerful Danish duo of Amalie Dideriksen and Julie Leth took the victory ahead of Ireland’s Lydia Gurley and Shannon McCurley, with Michaela Drummond and Rushlee Buchanan (New Zealand) third.
The weather then changed for the better and, after four heats of the men’s keirin, Jason Kenny, showing his Olympian class, won the final in style ahead of Juan Peralta Mohammad Shah.
The women’s keirin heats saw Charlene Du Preez, Elena Bissolati, Anis Amira Rosidi, Sophie Capewell, Robyn Stewart and Emer McMullen power into the main final. Capewell won in similarly convincing form to Kenny, flying home in front of Bissolati with Stewart showing the Irish jersey in third.
A hotly contested men’s Madison was headed by another Danish pair, Lasse Norman Hansen and Niklas Larsen, who followed Leth and Dideriksen's example and romped into top spot on the podium.
In the women’s points race, German rider Gudrun Stock lapped the bunch to take a dominant win ahead of Irish road race champion Alice Sharpe, who had been involved in the earlier crash in the Madison, and Dideriksen. The men’s version produced an outstanding ride from Britain’s Ethan Hayter, who also lapped the pack and still had the strength to pip the bunch on the line. His compatriots Oliver Wood and Matthew Walls rounded out the podium.
The last race of the day saw Dideriksen power to victory in the women’s scratch race, adding to her exploits in the Madison.
Earlier on in the morning, in the junior men’s scratch race, Navan Cycling Club showed their prowess with Sean Nolan and Sean Linehan taking the one-two ahead of Ciaran Dixon. Eva Brennan took the junior women’s scratch race from Hannah Tilly.
Sunday brings more elite track action from Sundrive, including the Omnium and Sprint competitions.
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PRESS RELEASE
Irish track elite set to test themselves against the cream of international talent
This weekend, the Dublin Cycling Track International will build on the momentum of an eventful national road and TT championships by putting domestic and international track stars in the limelight.
The UCI event, which runs over two days (Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July) at Dublin's Sundrive Velodrome, brings together the elite of Irish men's and women's track cycling and pits them against a selection of the world's finest. It's a stiff but very welcome test for proven local riders like Mark Downey, Felix English, Lydia Gurley, Lydia Boylan and recently crowned national road race champion Alice Sharpe, all of whom have the credentials to compete with - and beat - world-class opposition from abroad.
A full programme of men’s and women’s events will take place over the course of the weekend, with Olympic medallists Jason Kenny and Lasse Norman Hansen, as well as 2018 team pursuit world champion Ethan Hayter, the visiting riders who may attract the most attention in the men's field. Competing for honours with the Irish women will be stellar names such as former European scratch and points champion Trine Schmidt, 2016 road race world champion Amalie Dideriksen and world team sprint bronze-winner Victoria Williamson.
On what looks like being a sunny weekend in Dublin, spectators and supporters are invited to drop by Sundrive and catch these giants of track cycling doing their thing in what will be one of the best track events held in the UK and Ireland this year. It's a wonderful and accessible opportunity for Irish fans to see some stars of the velodrome up close and personal.
The action kicks off with the junior men’s Scratch race at 9.45am on Saturday, with the final event of the day, the women’s Scratch race, starting at 3.47pm. Day 1’s highlights include the Points races (women 1.00pm, men 2.44pm) and the Keirin finals (men 3.29pm, women 3.47pm).
Day 2, Sunday, sees the Omnium and the Sprint competition come to the fore, with the first of the Omnium races at 10.20am (men) and 10.51am (women) and the last of their 4 races at 3.41pm and 4.36pm respectively. The Sprint events start at 9.30am and the first of the finals will be at 3.29pm (men) and 3.37pm (women).
For further information, including full results, visit Cycling Ireland’s dedicated Dublin Track Cycling International microsite:
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