Irish para cyclists were in World Cup action again this past weekend when they travelled to Abruzzo, Italy.
The hand bikes of Allister MacSorley and Steven McGowan were on course first when racing got underway on Thursday the 7th of May. Both Development Squad athletes put in solid performances in the Individual Time Trial, with McGowan taking 19th place putting himself in the top half of a strong field. MacSorley carried his momentum from last week’s World Cup round in Belgium, and finished 9th.
Friday saw the continuation of the TT events. Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly claimed another UCI World Cup medal when they came home in second place, two seconds off the GB pairing. Development riders Jessica Kennedy and Alice Sharpe took fifth place in the WB field of 18. In the MB category, Damien Vereker and Mitchell McLaughlin took ninth, while the Development pairing of Ciaran O’Toole and Richard Barry took 16th.
Two solo bikes took to the TT course; Cormac O’Callaghan taking 14th place in MC1 and Paris 2024 Paralympian Richael Timothy taking eighth place in the WC3 category.
Road races started on Saturday the 9th, with both hand bikes on course. Steven McGowan took 16th spot in the MH3 category, before Allister MacSorley took another 9th place in the MH4 category.
Sunday saw more medals for Irish tandems, with Vereker and McLaughlin taking second in the MB road race and Dunlevy and Kelly taking third in the WB race. Ciaran O’Toole and Richard Barry brought their tandem home in 12th place, with another impressive performance from Jessica Kennedy and Alice Sharpe taking fifth.
In the solo bike categories, Richael Timothy took 7th spot in a strong WC3 event. Cormac O’Callaghan came in 12th in the MC1 category.
A Development selection now travels to Poland to take part in the Hetman Stage Race from May 14th to 17th.
Development Team for Hetman Stage Race:
Ciaran O’Toole and Conor Coleman (MB)
Ben Cussen and Richard Barry (MB)
Sinead Greenan and Claire Ni Reachtagain (WB)
Cormac O’Callaghan (MC1)
Allister MacSorely (MH4)
Heater Jameson (WC2)
