Irish Para cyclists made an impressive start to their 2026 UCI Para-cycling World Cup campaign last week in Gistel, Belgium, securing multiple podium finishes across a strong international field.
A combined squad of emerging and experienced riders represented Ireland, delivering a series of standout performances throughout the competition.
Racing began on Tuesday, April 28th with the Individual Time Trial events. Steven McGowan finished 15th in a highly competitive MH3 field, while Allister McSorley placed sixth in the MH4 category.
Among Ireland’s most experienced athletes, reigning double world champions Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly delivered a superb performance, winning gold in the tandem time trial on Wednesday, April 29th by over three seconds. Sinead Greenan, piloted by Alice Sharpe, also impressed with a bronze medal on their World Cup debut.
Paralympic pairing Damien Vereker and Mitchell McLaughlin finished ninth in their time trial, while Ciaran O’Toole, piloted by Con Scully, placed 12th.
Elsewhere, Cormac O’Callaghan secured 12th place in the MC1 category. Heather Jameson narrowly missed out on a podium finish, placing fourth in the WC2 event, while Paralympian Richael Timothy finished eighth in the WC3 category.
Road races got underway on Thursday, with Ireland’s handcyclists again producing strong performances. McGowan finished 12th in the MH3 race, while McSorley matched his earlier result with sixth place in the MH4 event.
Friday, May 1st featured the tandem road races. Dunlevy and Kelly placed tenth in the women’s race, while Greenan and Sharpe claimed their second bronze medal of the week with another outstanding ride.
In the men’s tandem race, Vereker and McLaughlin were unfortunately unable to finish, while O’Toole and Scully delivered a solid ride to take tenth place. O’Callaghan again finished 12th in the MC1 road race. Timothy placed sixth in WC3, while Jameson once more finished just outside the podium in fourth in WC2.
McSorley rounded out the week by combining with Norway’s Christian Gyldenhøhr and Brazil’s Moreira Ferreira in the team relay, where they secured an excellent silver medal.
Attention now turns to the next round of the UCI Para cycling World Cup, taking place in Abruzzo, Italy from May 7th to 10th. The Irish team will feature a similar mix of experienced athletes and emerging talent, with Richard Barry set to pilot Ciaran O’Toole.
Following this, a number of riders will compete at the Hetman Stage Race in Poland, continuing their development on the international stage.
