20 riders will represent Ireland in the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships across the Elite Men’s and Women’s races, U23 Men and Women, and Junior Men’s and Women’s races taking place around Glasgow and Scotland from August 5th to 13th.
The team will be based in Stirling, the road race events will start in various locations around Scotland and finish in Glasgow while the time trial events take place in Stirling itself.
All newly crowned elite, U23 and junior national champions at the 2023 Road National Champions in Dungannon in June have been selected, including Ben Healy, Lara Gillespie, Jamie Meehan, Ryan Mullen and Kelly Murphy.
Elite Men
Six riders form a strong Ireland team for the men’s road race, including national champion Ben Healy and multiple Grand Tour stage winner Sam Bennett. With Bennett’s strength in the sprint and Healy’s versatility, Ireland will hope to be involved in the business end of the road race.
Ryan Mullen, Dillon Corkery, Rory Townsend and Cormac McGeogh also feature in an exciting Ireland line-up. Healy and Mullen will also ride the elite men’s time trial as the two most recent national champions in the discipline.
Elite Women (Including U23)
The elite women’s road race which incorporates U23’s will feature Alice Sharpe, Megan Armitage and Lara Gillespie (U23). Sharpe who was crowned 2022 National Champion and Armitage who will compete in the Tour De France Femmes will contest for the elite title. Still only U23, Gillespie will be one to watch and is eying a good performance at the UCI World Championships and will be buoyed by becoming a double European champion at U23 level on the track in early July.
Reigning women’s time trial national champion Kelly Murphy will ride in the elite women’s time trial.
U23 Men
Darren Rafferty, Odhran Doogan, Dean Harvey, Aaron Wade and Jamie Meehan form an impressive team for the U23 men’s race. Rafferty comes into the race in fine form after signing for world tour team EF Education Easypost for 2024 after some eye-catching performances in the Giro Next Gen and the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta-Mont Blanc. Doogan and Harvey have impressed throughout this season while Meehan was recently crowned U23 national champion in the road race. Wade also competed in last month’s U23 Track European Championships.
U23 time trial national champion Rafferty as well as Harvey will contest the U23 men’s time trial.
Junior Men
Two of Ireland’s most exciting junior riders will take part in the junior men’s road race as Seth Dunwoody and Liam O’Brien combine. Dunwoody was crowned national champion in June while O’Brien finished runner-up. O’Brien also took a stage win and second in general classification at the Junior Tour of Ireland in July.
Junior men’s time trial national champion Adam Rafferty has been selected to compete in the junior men’s time trial alongside O’Brien.
Junior Women
National champion Lucy Benezet Minns and Aine Doherty, two of Ireland’s most promising junior riders, will participate in the women’s junior road race and time trial events. The two stand-out women’s junior riders at the Road National Championships, the duo will represent Ireland on the world stage.
Ireland Road Team – 2023 UC Cycling World Championships
Elite Men Road Race – August 6th
- Sam Bennett
- Ben Healy
- Ryan Mullen
- Rory Townsend
- Dillon Corkery
- Cormac McGeough
Elite Men Time Trial – August 11th
Elite Women (Incorporating U23) Road Race – August 13th
- Alice Sharpe
- Megan Armitage
- Lara Gillespie (U23)
Elite Women Time Trial – August 10th
U23 Men
Road Race – August 12th
- Darren Rafferty
- Jamie Meehan
- Odhran Doogan
- Aaron Wade
- Dean Harvey
Time Trial – August 9th
- Darren Rafferty
- Dean Harvey
Junior Men
Road Race – August 5th
- Seth Dunwoody
- Liam O’Brien
Time Trial – August 11th
- Adam Rafferty
- Liam O’Brien
Junior Women
Road Race – August 5th
- Lucy Benezet Minns
- Aine Doherty
Time Trial – August 10th
- Lucy Benezet Minns
- Aine Doherty
More information on the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships is available here.
