Paracycling rider Ronan Grimes raced to Ireland’s first medal of the World championships campaign on Thursday, netting bronze in the C4 individual pursuit. Grimes had finished fourth-fastest in Wednesday’s qualifier, with Frenchman Gatien le Rousseau going over half a second quicker.
He started as favourite in their bronze medal final on Thursday evening, but Grimes was quickest throughout the contest. His time of four minutes 34.015 was 7.44 seconds faster, securing bronze.
Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal finished sixth in the 1km tandem time trial qualifiers and progressed through to the finals, where they were again sixth. Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly were 10th in the qualifiers.
Grimes also lined out in the MC4 200 metre time trial, the opening event in the four-round Omnium event. He was 10th but will be better suited to the remaining rounds, namely the 1km TT, the individual pursuit and the scratch race.
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“I’m really emotional after that,” explained Grimes. “I think it’s probably the best result that I’ve done. I know last year I won the road race, but in an individual pursuit against the strongest C4 field that’s ever been there – I wasn’t expecting to get that medal.
“The French rider I was up against beat me in every time trial this year so I thought this wouldn’t work. It wasn’t a great ride or as fast as yesterday but there was a bit of grunt there that got me through the line. I’m delighted.”
Meanwhile Kelly Murphy was the first of Ireland’s non-paracycling track competitors in action, competing in the individual pursuit on Thursday morning. She recorded a time of three minutes 29.967 seconds for the 3,000 metres, finishing 11th.
MTB rider Callum Morris was 21st in the qualifiers of the junior downhill event.
Friday is a very busy day for the Irish across a number of disciplines. Those in action include the Elite downhill riders, with Ronan Dunne, Oisin O’ Callaghan, Christopher Cumming, Conor Bate and Niall Clerkin all competing.
In the velodrome, the women’s team pursuit squad will be racing, with Murphy joining up with Alice Sharpe, Emily Kay and Lara Gillespie. Kay will also contest the women’s scratch race.
Dunlevy and McCrystal will be among 10 paracycling riders competing in the velodrome. They are in the bronze medal final for the 3km individual pursuit.
This year’s championships is the first where the bulk of cycling’s categories and disciplines are contesting the worlds at the same time and in the same area. It was introduced by cycling’s governing body the UCI as a so-called super-worlds to be held a year in advance of each Olympic Games.
Meanwhile Eddie Dunbar looks set to finish a fine seventh overall in the Tour de Pologne on Friday, the Corkman’s first race since finishing in the same position in the Giro d’Italia in May.
He had started Thursday’s individual time trial sixth overall but drifted one place to seventh during the 16.6km test. He was 28th against the clock, with Ryan Mullen (Bora-hansgrohe) 21st.
Mullen’s team-mate Sam Bennett did not start the stage, presumably to ensure he is fresh before the world road race championships on Sunday.
Dunbar will likely be content with his showing as he is primarily focused on sharpening his form after a period of altitude training. His big target for the remaining part of the season is the Vuelta a España, starting on August 26th.
Schedule
Friday, August 4th
Track
9.30am Women’s Team Pursuit – qualifying: Alice Sharpe, Emily Kay, Kelly Murphy, Lara Gillespie
7.58pm Women’s Scratch Race – final: Emily Kay
Para-Cycling track
11.42am Men’s B 1km Time Trial – qualifying: Martin Gordon & Eoin Mullen | Damien Vereker & Mitchell McLaughlin
12.50pm Men’s C3 1km Time Trial – qualifying: William Clifford
1.18pm Men’s C4 1km Time Trial – qualifying: Ronan Grimes
2.18pm Men’s C2 200m Flying Start Time Trial – final (Omnium): Chris Burns
2.50pm Women’s C3 200m Flying Start Time Trial – final (Omnium): Richael Timothy
5.25pm Men’s B 1km Time Trial – final *Qualification Dependent
6pm Men’s C4 1km Time Trial – final (Omnium): Ronan Grimes
6.21pm Men’s C3 1km Time Trial – final (Omnium): William Clifford
8.16pm Women’s B 3km Individual Pursuit – bronze medal ride off: Katie George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal
Mountain Bike Downhill
12:30 Men’s Elite – qualifying: Ronan Dunne, Oisin O’ Callaghan, Christopher Cumming, Conor Bate, Niall Clerkin
15:30 Men’s Junior – final *Qualification Dependent
Gran Fondo
10:00 Road Races (full schedule)
