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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
IRISH SQUAD HEAD FOR PARACYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Denis Toomey
6 Sep 2011,
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BIG IRISH SQUAD HEAD FOR UCI PARACYCLING ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ROSKILDE DENMARK 8th to 12th SEPTEMBER 2011
The biggest ever Irish Paracycling Squad left Dublin today to take part in the 2011 UCI Road World Championships which take place in Roskilde in Denmark this week.
Current Road Race World Champion in the H1 Handcycling category Athlone man Mark Rohan will be hoping to repeat his great win in Canada last year and maybe even pull of the double by taking both the road race and time trial crowns. Mark has shown that he is certainly capable of doing this as he won both events in the 2011 Road World Cup series.
Another member of the squad C2 rider Colin Lynch who is based in Macclesfield near Manchester has also shown good form recently in when coming second in the World Cup so hopefully he will maintain this form and produce the goods in Denmark.
Ireland has qualified 2 female tandem slots for the World Championships and top Irish pairing and Track World Champions Bronze Medal holders Catherine Walsh and Fran Mehan will be joined by Paracycling newcomers Katie-George Dunlevy who will be piloted by Louise Moriarty who recently took the silver medal in the National Championships road race. Catherine and Fran will be hoping to repeat their Gold Medal performance in the Segovia leg of the 2011 Road World Cup.
Another athlete showing good form this year is C5 cyclist Cathal Miller who won a Bronze Medal in the Sydney World Cup earlier in the year and also produced medal winning performances at the Europa Cup races in Italy and Belgium recently.
In the Male Tandem category we have 2 strong contenders Andrew Fitzgerald and pilot Damien Shaw will compete in the Road Race and James Brown piloted by Con Collis will take part in both the road race and the time trial. Both tandems are expected to be in the hunt for medals.
Enda Smyth back on form after a bad injury early in the year will be competing in the C3 Category where his best chance should be in the Time Trial. He will also compete in the Road Race event in Denmark.
Kerry rider Trix Schwedler returns to the squad to compete in the Female C5 category where she will be hoping to impress in a year when everyone’s eyes will be on potential selection for the big one the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
One of the big benefits of putting in a medal winning performance at the World Championships in Denmark will be the automatic selection on the squad for London provided sufficient qualification slots are secured by Ireland when final allocations are made next February.
Expressing high hopes for a number of Irish athletes on the podium this week Irish Paracycling manager Denis Toomey said if we can repeat the performances put in during the year we will certainly be celebrating come Sunday night. The squad celebrate their 10th anniversary of their first World Championship appearance this year and no one could have envisaged that we would have grown so much and be in medal contention in so many categories in such a short time. Great credit is due to the athletes and the coaches for their dedication and professionalism. Hopefully we can produce the goods in Denmark and move one step closer to achieving our goal of six qualification slots for London. We go out with a very strong team and high hopes of podium finishes in all categories. The hard work has been put in and now we hope to reap the just rewards.
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