Cycling Ireland have announced the Irish track teams that will compete at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and Scotland.
The special multi-discipline World Championships will be held from August 3rd to 13th across a number of venues around Scotland and will see 13 World Championships contested.
The Track World Championships will be contested from August 3rd to 9th while the Para-cycling Track World Championships will be held from August 3rd to 8th. Both will take place in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow.
Five riders will represent Ireland in the 2023 UCI Track World Championships in a team centred around the women’s team pursuit programme.
Alice Sharpe, Lara Gillespie, Emily Kay, Kelly Murphy and Erin Creighton have been selected in the women’s endurance events.
Ireland are hoping to build on an encouraging 2022 Track World Championships and a momentum building UCI Nations Cup campaign.
The women’s team pursuit will take centre stage as Ireland look to continue progress made earlier this year that included three national record performances and a fourth-place finish in the Nations Cup in Cairo back in March.
Ireland missed out on qualifying in the top eight by less than a second at the 2022 Track World Championships, but it’s hoped that the forward strides made over the past nine months can push them to the next level.
Erin Creighton has been called up to her first senior Track World Championships after making the step up from the junior ranks this season. She comes in as the reserve rider for the women’s team pursuit. Mia Griffin had originally been selected but withdrew due to injury.
Women’s endurance events entries will be confirmed in due course.
The Irish team for the 2023 Para-cycling Track World Championships includes a reigning world silver medallist Ronan Grimes and Paralympic silver medallists Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal.
Nine athletes will represent Ireland in the championships, including three tandem pairings and three individual riders.
Grimes will look to go one better than his individual pursuit silver medal in Paris last October as he competes in the men’s C4 events.
Dunlevy and McCrystal are reunited on the track after illness meant that the duo missed out on the 2022 Para-cycling Track World Championships. They’re targeting a fourth medal at World Championships level on the track on top of their silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly make up a second pairing in their first World Championships on the track.
Chris Burns (MC2) and Richael Timothy (WC3) are also selected after breaking national records at the 2022 championships while William Clifford (MC3) will also compete at Track Para-cycling World Championships for the first time.
Damien Vereker will compete with new men’s tandem pilot Mitchell McLoughlin on the track for the first time, the pair have gone from strength to strength this season competing in Para-cycling World Cups on the road.
Martin Gordon and Eoin Mullen complete an exciting line-up as Ireland hope to continue the success of their Para-cycling squad over recent seasons.
Para-cycling Track competition begins on August 2nd with individual pursuit qualifying across every category before the competition proper kicks off on August 3rd.
2023 UCI Cycling World Championships Track Team
Women’s Endurance
- Alice Sharpe
- Lara Gillespie
- Emily Kay
- Kelly Murphy
- Erin Creighton (Women’s Team Pursuit Reserve)
2023 UCI Cycling World Championships Para-cycling Track Team
Women’s Tandem
- Katie George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal (Pilot)
- Josephine Healion & Linda Kelly (Pilot)
Men’s Tandem
- Damien Vereker & Mitchell McLaughlin (Pilot)
- Martin Gordon & Eoin Mullen (Pilot)
Individual
- Ronan Grimes – Men’s C4
- Chris Burns – Men’s C2
- Richael Timothy – Women’s C3
- William Clifford – Men’s C3
