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Last Updated: 16 Feb 2023 - 7:54:22 PM |
UEC Track European Championships Round-up
By Gavin Quinn, Communications Officer, Cycling ireland
12 Feb 2023,
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Day Five Press Release: 12th February 2023
Crash Derails Ireland’s Hopes In The Madison On The Final Day Of Competition At The European Track Championships
Ireland’s European Track Championships concluded on Sunday in Grenchen, Switzerland as riders competed in the women’s Madison and men’s and women’s Keirin.
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| Madison - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Alice Sharpe and Mia Griffin teamed up for the Madison with hopes of a top 10 finish but a crash mid-way through the race derailed their chance of this.
Ireland started strongly securing a point each in the first two sprints however just over halfway into the race, Sharpe hit the deck.
While Shape received some attention after her crash, Gillespie slotted into the main bunch to stay in the race. Sharpe re-joined the race shortly after but as a strong pace was maintained at the front of the race, the Irish team were under pressure to stick with the bunch eventually losing a lap resulting in a 20-point deduction.
Determined to finish the race, Sharpe and Gillespie never threw in the towel finishing out the race with a further two 20-point deductions.
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| Conor Rowley in Keirin - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Earlier today, Orla Walsh and Conor Rowley competed in the Keirin. First to race was Walsh, who finished in 5th place in the first round with only the top two riders directly qualifying for the second round.
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| Orla Walsh in Keirin - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Walsh had a second chance to secure qualification in the first round repecharge but it wasn’t meant to be.
Rowley suffered a similar fate in his races and was unsuccessful in qualifying for the second round after finishing 6th and 4th in his heat in the first round and repecharge respectively.
Sunday’s action is Ireland’s last at this year’s European Championships after five days of competition at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland.
Day Four Press Release: 11th February 2023
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| Kelly Murphy - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Kelly Murphy Finishes 7th In The Individual Pursuit As Erin Creighton Makes Her Elite Debut For Ireland
Kelly Murphy has finished 7th in the individual pursuit as young Erin Creighton made her elite debut for Ireland at the European Track Championships in Grenchen on Saturday.
Murphy covered the 3000m distance in a time of 3:28.632 posting the 7th quickest. In her final event of the championships, Murphy produced an impressive time to finish in 7th place in a strong field. Murphy was part of the team pursuit squad that broke the national record on Thursday.
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| Erin Creighton - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Erin Creighton was also in action competing in the individual pursuit, making her elite debut for Ireland. The 18-year-old clocked a time of 3:41.185 finishing in 14th place, gaining valuable experience competing in her first Elite European Championships.
Orla Walsh was first up to race in the morning competing in the Women’s 500m time trial qualifying and set a time of 35.032 seconds, finishing in 17th place but missing out on qualification for the final. Walsh will now switch her attention to her final event of the championships, the Keirin, which takes place on Sunday.
JB Murphy is competing in the Omnium throughout the day. With two events completed out of four, Murphy sits in 8th position on 50 points after a dominant display in the tempo race, finishing in first place. He will compete in the elimination and points race this evening at 5.08pm and 6.10pm.
Mia Griffin is also scheduled to compete in the women’s points race in the evening session at 7.22pm.
Watch live coverage of the evening session on GCN+ and Discovery+
Day Three Press Release: 10th February 2023
Lara Gillespie Finishes 13th Place In The Omnium At The Track European Championships
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| Lara Gillespie - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Lara Gillespie has finished 13th in the women’s omnium at the UEC Track European Championships at Grenchen, Switzerland, on Friday, February 10th. Gillespie competed in four races across the third day of competition – a scratch race, tempo race, elimination race and points race. Gillespie started her day with a 13th place finish in the scratch race. She followed this up with a top 10 finish in the tempo race which moved her up to 12th place overall in the standings with two events still to go.
Heading into the final race of the omnium, Gillespie sat on 52 points after a 15th place finish in the elimination race. The Irish rider rode well in the high-paced points race securing a point in the opening sprint but was unable to add anymore points and finished 13th overall.
Conor Rowley kicked off the day for Ireland in the men’s sprint qualifying and his time of 10.091 saw him finish 17th and progress to the 1/16 finals in the afternoon.
Rowley faced Dominik Topinka of Czech Republic in the 1/16 finals, but narrowly missed out in the match sprint finishing 0.013 behind Topinka.
JB Murphy was also in action this evening competing in the scratch race. The 2021 European Bronze medallist put in a huge effort committing to an early attack which saw him come within a third of a lap of catching the back of the bunch.
This sparked a reaction at the front of the bunch as riders upped the pace, eventually reeling him back in. As the race progressed and the pace quickened, many riders retired early from the race. Murphy was among eight non finishers.
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| Conor Rowley - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Day Four Schedule
It’s another busy day for Ireland on Saturday, February 11th, as Orla Walsh competes in the women’s 500m Time Trial qualifying.
Erin Creighton will make her elite debut for Ireland to compete in the women’s individual pursuit who was drafted in to replace the injured Emily Kay. Experienced pursuit rider, Kelly Murphy will also compete in this event.
JB Murphy is back in action tomorrow competing in the men’s omnium throughout the day, racing in the scratch and tempo races in the afternoon session followed by the elimination and points races in the evening session.
Also in action in the evening session is Mia Griffin who will compete in the women’s points race.
Day Two Press Release: 9th February 2023
10th Place For Mia Griffin In Women's Elimination Race At UEC Track European Championships
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| Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Mia Griffin has finished in tenth place in the women’s elimination race on day two of the UEC Track European Championships in Grenchen, Switzerland on Thursday, February 9th.
The Irish rider was heavily involved in the opening exchanges as she kept to the front of the bunch and clear of elimination but found herself in a battle to avoid elimination on two occasions before finishing in tenth place in a competitive field.
Ireland enjoyed a successful start to the day in the afternoon session as a new national record was set in the women’s team pursuit.
The team of Alice Sharpe, Lara Gillespie, Kelly Murphy and Mia Griffin set a blazing time of 4.19.705 - a new national record* in the first round following qualifying on Wednesday.
The new time is 0.033 seconds quicker than the previous record set on April 21, 2022, at the Nations Cup in Glasgow.
After a strong time of 4:21.426 in qualifying on Wednesday, Ireland needed to move up from fifth in the standings to the top four in order to race for a medal.
And despite taking almost two seconds off their qualifying time, Ireland missed out on the top four behind Italy, Great Britain, France and Germany.
Orla Walsh kicked off the day for Ireland in the women’s sprint qualifying and her time of 11.159 saw her finish 16th and progress to the 1/16 finals in the afternoon.
Walsh was paired with Ukraine’s Oleksandra Lohviniuk in the 1/16 finals, but missed out in the match sprint as she finished 0.070 seconds behind Lohviniuk.
* All new national records are provisional and subject to formal ratification with Cycling Ireland.
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| Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Day Three Schedule
It’s another busy day for Ireland on Friday, February 10th, as Conor Rowley competes in the men’s sprint qualifying.
Lara Gillespie will compete in the women’s omnium throughout the day, racing in the scratch and tempo races in the afternoon session followed by the elimination and points races in the evening session.
Also in action in the evening session is JB Murphy, he’ll compete in the men’s scratch race at the Tissot Velodrome.
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| Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Ireland Set New Women's Team Pursuit National Record At UEC Track European Championships
It was a record breaking second day for Ireland at the UEC Track European Championships on Thursday, February 9th, as a new national record was set in the women’s team pursuit.
The team of Alice Sharpe, Lara Gillespie, Kelly Murphy and Mia Griffin set a blazing time of 4.19.705 - a new national record* in the first round following qualifying on Wednesday in Grenchen, Switzerland.
The new time is 0.033 seconds quicker than the previous record of 4.19.738 set on April 21, 2022, at the Nations Cup in Glasgow.
After a strong time of 4:21.426 in qualifying on Wednesday, Ireland needed to move up from fifth in the standings to the top four in order to race for a medal.
And despite taking almost two seconds off their qualifying time, Ireland missed out on the top four behind Italy, Great Britain, France and Germany.
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| Orla Walsh - Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
Orla Walsh kicked off the day for Ireland in the women’s sprint qualifying and her time of 11.159 saw her finish 16th and progress to the 1/16 finals in the afternoon.
Walsh was paired with Ukraine’s Oleksandra Lohviniuk in the 1/16 finals, but missed out in the match sprint as she finished 0.070 seconds behind Lohviniuk.
Mia Griffin is scheduled to compete in the women’s elimination race in the evening session at 6.22 pm.
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| Photo credit: Drew Kaplan Photography |
* All new national records are provisional and subject to formal ratification by Cycling Ireland.
Day One Press Release: 8th February 2023
Ireland enjoyed an encouraging opening day at the UEC Track European Championships at Grenchen, Switzerland, on Wednesday, February 8th.
The team of Alice Sharpe, Lara Gillespie, Kelly Murphy and Mia Griffin finished in fifth place in the women’s team pursuit qualifying in the afternoon session.
Ireland set the standard early on with a strong time of 4:21.426 ahead of Thursday’s first round, finishing top of the provisional standings ahead of Poland, Switzerland and Spain with four teams still to ride.
However, the final four qualifiers of Great Britain, Italy, France and Germany also set strong times to push Ireland into fifth place after the qualifying round, with Great Britain leading the way with a time of 4:11.594.
Ireland will now be matched with Poland in round one, who finished eighth in qualifying on Wednesday, and know that a top four time in the first round will secure a place in the finals, which will take place later on Thursday evening.
In the team pursuit event, the two fastest teams from round one will race for gold and silver while third and fourth will race for a bronze medal.
The performance comes after Emily Kay withdrew from the squad last month due to injury, with Mia Griffin replacing her in the only change to the line-up that competed at the 2022 Track World Championships.
Alice Sharpe was back in action in the evening session at the Tissot Velodrome as she raced in the women's scratch race.
She finished in 12th place in the women's scratch race that saw the bunch denied a sprint for the win as Portugal’s Maria Martins and Spain’s Eukene Larrate Arteaga took gold and silver.
The duo wasn't caught by the bunch following a breakaway inside the final ten laps as Sharpe sprinted to 12th place.
Day Two Schedule
Attention now switches to Thursday’s action as Ireland look forward to a busy day as the championships continue.
Orla Walsh is in sprint qualifying action at 11 am Irish time. Depending on results, Walsh could also race in the 1/16, 1/8 and quarter finals later in the day.
The first round of the women’s team pursuit is scheduled for 12.27 pm Irish time while the finals take place 7.36 pm should Ireland qualify.
Mia Griffin will race in the women’s elimination race scheduled to begin at 6.24 pm Irish time.
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You can follow all the latest updates on the Cycling Ireland social media channels.
Full Results and schedule information is available link here...
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