|
The team of two female and five male athletes will be made up of young riders, some having represented Ireland previously, with some making their Irish debut.
Having recently made her debut in green at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup round in Dublin, Esther Wong will be donning the Irish jersey for the second time as she takes part in the Omnium, as well as the Elimination and Points races.
No stranger to representing Ireland is Aoife O’Brien. O’Brien, with double digit national championships across several disciplines recently represented Ireland at the UCI Road World Championships and has had a strong year racing on the continent. She’ll be hoping to finish her year on a high note in the Omnium and Scratch races in Grenchen.
Killarney native Stefan Caulfield-Dreier will once again represent Ireland, having done so on the road and track for several years. He will compete in the Omnium, Points, Scratch and Elimination races.
Former Scottish National Champion Matti Dobbins will make his Irish debut. Having taken several wins on the track previously, including at the Dublin Track International in 2022, Dobbins will look to bring his experience to the young squad in Grenchen.
Maximilian Fitzgerald will pull on the green jersey again, having already ridden for Ireland at the Nations Cup Hungary, where the team won the overall prize, and taken the win on Stage 5 of the Junior Tour of Ireland. The Jegg Racing Academy rider will look to bring his talents to the track in the Omnium, Scratch, Points and Elimination races.
Luca Holmes comes in to represent Ireland once again, having made his international debut at the Ghent International Track Meet in June. Holmes then represented Ireland again at the Junior European Track Championships in Germany in July, where he grabbed himself a 13th place finish in the Points race. This trip to Grenchen will see him compete in the Omnium, Scratch, Points and Elimination races.
Philip O’Connor will also ride for Ireland in Grenchen, having already ridden in green at the Junior European Championships earlier this year. The 2023 European Youth Olympic festival competitor took three National Track Championships in one day in 2023, and will ride in the Omnium, Scratch, Points and Elimination races.
National Track Cycling Coach Dan Henchy said “We are happy to see a number of riders with the opportunity to race and build on their track racing experience this week in Grenchen. It’s a really well run event with a competitive field which offers our riders an ideal level of competition exposure where they can hone their fitness and racecraft and compete against riders from across Europe in a UCI ranked race. Events like this are instrumental in helping develop our young riders and enabling them test themselves in a well supported environment. We are looking forward to some exciting racing as we build towards the 2025 Season.”
Team Riders and events
Esther Wong - Omnium, Elimination, Points
Aoife O'Brien - Omnium, Scratch
Stefan Caulfield-Dreier - Omnium, Scratch, Elimination, Points
Matti Dobbins - Omnium, Scratch, Elimination, Points
Max Fitzgerald - Omnium, Scratch, Elimination, Points
Luca Holmes - Omnium, Scratch, Elimination, Points
Philip O'Connor - Omnium, Scratch, Elimination, Points