With the road season kicking off last weekend, Cycling Ireland’s HPU has outlined its HP Pathway road racing plans for 2026 and provides below some insight as to how National team selections will be shaped this season.

As with previous years, the primary rationale and logic behind selection processes is published on the Cycling Ireland website click here to download

Any rider with ambition to gain a National team selection is encouraged to read and be familiar with this document.

Now that racing has started, performances in the early season both domestically and abroad will be monitored and considered by HP Pathway Manager Stuart Balfour and HP Pathway Coach Martyn Irvine as indicators of current form, progression and future potential. As such, early season races will be used as part of the process to shape and inform National team selections as the year progresses.

The first major target for an Irish Junior male team on the road is set to be the Course de la Paix from the 7th to the 10th of May in Terezin, Czechia. Irish riders have previously fared well at the event, including stage wins for Conor Murphy and Seth Dunwoody in 2025 and 2024 respectively.

In a progressive move to develop our strongest Year 2 male Juniors, CI HPU has been in discussion with Rás Tailteann and agreed that the National team selection of 5 riders for Rás Tailteann may include up to two second year junior riders. As in previous years the Rás team composition is aiming primarily at U23 riders with the potential for a more senior road captain to lead the team. Should any second year juniors evidence that they are ready and will gain a positive developmental & learning opportunity from this level of race exposure, they will be considered for selection. This is strictly a dispensation for the National team on the basis of National Coach recommendation. (No other Juniors are permitted to race with any other Teams.)

Cycling Ireland coach Martyn Irvine, a Rás stage winner himself, said: "I would be delighted to provide our best young riders with an experience of riding the Rás. In recent years development has been our primary objective and the Rás organisers have consistently been supportive in this endeavour. We hope this will motivate our junior riders in the early season and enable us to sustain this development in line with how the sport is evolving Internationally.”

Following the Rás, a National team will once again race at the Junior Tour of Ireland. The JTOI attracts riders from across the World and consistently has a high quality field. This gives the HPU the opportunity to compose a team that works well together as a unit and provides the riders with the opportunity, under the direction of a National Coach DS and an experienced support crew, to deliver a cohesive team strategy on domestic roads.

The Watersley Challenge, taking place from July 24th to 26th in the Netherlands, will be the next race a male National team will be selected for. With a lot of racing already done at this point in the season, Watersley provides junior riders the chance to build on that experience and aim to perform at their best in a competitive international field.

Alongside the bespoke support and coaching going into male and female riders on the Performance Pathway Programme (PPP), the HPU also has the capacity to assist junior riders on the PPP with some support in other events. Recognising that we don’t always have the depth of available riders to field junior women’s teams in higher level events, examples of this last season included selecting female juniors in the National team for Rás na mBan, or helping with costs for attending Nations Cups or similar internationals with their club teams.

In the latter part of the season, both European & World Championships once again fall in consecutive weeks at the end of September and early October. Decisions around major championship participation will be made & communicated in the coming weeks. At the time of writing, complete event information has not been published for both events therefore informed planning has not been finalised. Major championship selections will be made in line with the published National team selection policy and Cycling Ireland anticipate male and female Irish Juniors will have the opportunity to be considered for at least one Major Championship in 2026.