Ireland’s road para-cyclists are gearing up for a busy few weeks, with athletes from both the High Performance and Development squads set to compete.
The first UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup event of the year takes riders to Ostend and Bruges from May 1st to 4th. A larger development team will then head to Lublin, Poland for the Hetman Stage Race, taking place from the May 8th to 12th. A squad will then compete in another UCI World Cup in Maniago, Italy from May 15th to 18th.
Double Paralympian Richael Timothy will take to the road again in Bruges and Ostend competing in the WC3 category. She will be joined by a pair of tandems; Paralympic medallist and World Champion duo Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly, and another Paris 2024 pairing in Damien Vereker and Mitchell McLaughlin ride in the WB and MB categories respectively. The Paralympians will be joined by Cormac O’Callaghan, part of the Cycling Ireland Para-Cycling Development Squad, as he rides in the MC1.
The same squad will travel to Maniago two weeks later, where they will be joined by Development Squad rider Allister MacSorley, who will compete in the MH4 handcycle category.
A larger development squad will head to the stage race in Poland. Cormac O’Callaghan will again feature, and will be joined by Heather Jameson, riding WC2, and Steven McGowan riding MH3 The three individual riders will be joined by two tandem pairings. Jessica Kennedy will be piloted by Shauna Finn, while Ciaran O’Toole is piloted by Alan Lyne.
These events mark an important step in the pathway toward the LA28 Paralympic Games, providing valuable high-level racing experience for both established and emerging para-cyclists.
