Track Cycling Ireland

Page 3

It’s now a month on from that session and the good performances expected by Boardman came to pass. Ray Clarke’s bronze medal in the Keirin is expected to yield an Olympic place for Ireland when the world rankings are announced next April, while the other top ten results were a morale-boosting reward for the hard work which had been put in during the past few months. Given that many of the other countries present had been preparing for a far longer period of time, and that the Irish squad had little track-related competition beforehand, Collins was justifiably pleased with what they had achieved.

‘The team did a fantastic performance at the B worlds’, he said. ‘Ray’s medal ride was incredible, but the other results were all very good too. Most of the team had no real track experience and to step up and take on the other countries was a very good performance. Prior to the B worlds I had targeted a medal, a top five placing and a couple of top ten placings – we achieved all that and so I am very happy.’

‘I think there are good signs for all of the athletes. For example, Ray did 1’08” for the kilometre…that was a good time, but he came into the programme late. If he hadn’t done the Rás, I think he could have gone a good two seconds quicker than that. That would have put him in the medals. And of course his Keirin ride was awesome. Keith Bannan’s sixth place in the sprint was also very good – most of the other riders had been doing a lot of track racing, including the world cup events’.

‘Each of the others all rode very well in their disciplines – basically, I couldn’t have asked for any more from the team. They gave absolutely one hundred percent to ensure they got to the B worlds in the best possible shape, and then rode to their limits there. We finished in the top ten of almost every event…that is an amazing achievement and one which we can build upon. ’

‘In addition to the actual results, what is also very important is what will come out of the project. What Cycling Ireland have afforded these athletes is an opportunity to explore something new and hopefully offer them a different dimension to their sporting career. Yes, this programme was about the B worlds but it was also about the development of athletes and ourselves. Something that is important from this project is creating a legacy from it, something which is probably missed from the programmes in the past. We will come out from this with a number of different modules which can be adapted for road racing, mountainbiking and track, and try to cross-utilise those to develop our athletes which are at an level to benefit from these services.’

‘Basically, it is also about the dynamics about being more professional about a very amateur approach we may have had in the past. It is raising the bar higher and hopefully it is instilling more confidence in them that they can be more competitive at this level.’

It is reassuring that the focus of the track programme has already begun moving forward, even though the B worlds has just recently finished. Collins is planning the next stage, and of course a fundamental part of that is to get the Sundrive Road facility up and running again and to start holding regular track meets there.

The restoration of the velodrome has been considerably delayed since the track commission first announced its intention to resurface Sundrive Road. ‘There have been a number of factors,’ explains Collins, who now envisages that the job will be completed quite quickly. ‘One has been the level of work which needs to be done and the level of finance available. We have had to look at what is the most effective way to get the job done right. Secondly, there have been a number of contractual issues which I can’t really go into. We had appointed a contractor but couldn’t work with them, with regards to the Dublin City council, so we felt the best thing was to go out to tender again and get another price. We have done that now and we are quite happy with the way things are moving along. Also, some of this is being done on a voluntary capacity so that makes things harder, with regard to the time which is available.

‘Yes, it is disappointing that we haven’t been able to deliver it on time but the reality is that the track hasn’t been resurfaced in 25 years. The level of cyclists involved in track racing has been abysmal up until two years ago, since the start of the track commission. So we have to basically take a step back in order to move forward. There have been a re-evaluation from all our points of view, with regard to the direction we have to take with this facility. There are insurance implications, safely statements which we weren’t aware of which have tripped us up along the way. We have to ensure the safety of the competitors. It is critical for us as an organisation to ensure the facility is safe and user friendly, that the sport gets a good value for money, and that the government and the Dublin City Council are investing in it.’

‘It is not going to be a Manchester velodrome. It is going to be the best job we can do with the resources which are available. With regards to the amount of time it will take, the construction time is actually a fortnight. So I would imagine that by the middle of August work will have started and by the end of the month we could be back racing on the track.’

‘With regards to the national cycling school, we were granted planning permission at the end of last month and we are now in the process of drawing up to tender. Everything going to plan with that, and subject to contractor approval, we will be starting in late September/early October. That will be a huge development for our sport because it means that we will have a place for our coaching staff to be able to come and coach our coaches and train our coaches, and at the same time our underage and juniors will be able to come to a closed environment and upskill themselves on the track, using either their own bikes or the ten we will be renting out to clubs. It is the next evolution.’

Besides having the new, improved Sundrive Road velodrome and the National Cycling School in place, Collins feels that a more structured approach is necessary for the athletes themselves. ‘Basically, what the B worlds experience has shown us is that a more professional approach is the only way forward, if we are to really chase success in the future. We have to be more specific in making sure that people go to contests like the Olympic games and perform to their optimum. What needs to be put in place is a selection structure that pinpoints the best possible athlete for an event, and affords him or her with the opportunity to do as well as they possibly can in the competition.’

‘The plan now is to have two parallel programmes in place. The first will be aimed at getting good results next year, particularly if we have competitors in the Olympics. The other will be a development programme for the longer term, using both road and track racing together to bring on riders and to help them prepare to do well in future competition. The Irish Sports Council seem to be happy with what we have achieved, but we have to show them we are serious. We will be making a preliminary submission to them at the end of August, where we will produce a plan for next year and also make a pitch for funding. I believe, though, that it is important that we also make a pitch for the next four years, so that they can see we are not going at this in a one-dimensional way but are actually looking at it in the long term too.

‘Basically, the B worlds and whole programme of preparation for the championships have been a real learning experience for all of us. For many years in Irish cycling there was a kind of haphazard approach to things; what this whole experience has shown us is the necessity to plan, to prepare correctly and to be more professional about our whole approach. If we do everything correctly, it will make a big, big difference in the long run. Not just track racing, but Irish cycling in general.’
 

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