Caroline Ryan First to Compete UCI Track Cycling World Championships Cali 2014

The Irish Team are ready for action at the Track Cycling World Championships, which take place in Colombia's Alcides Nieto Patino Velodrome from the 26th February to the 2nd March 2014. First on the boards is Caroline Ryan, who competes in the Women's Scratch Race at 8pm local time. The Irish Team will compete across six events over the coming four days.

The Scratch Race is a bunch race, where the winner is the first rider over the line. It requires a high level of skill and tactics, and is a 10km race in the Velodrome. At last year's World Championships Martyn Irvine won a Gold Medal in this event, becoming Ireland's first World Champion in Track Cycling in over 100 years. Ryan competes at 8pm local time, in a straight final.

Preparations have been going well for the small, successful Irish team. Ryan is currently the World Number One Ranked Individual Pursuit Rider in the World, and previously won a bronze medal in the Points Race at the World Championships. She will be competing in both of these events later on in the week.

World Champion Martyn Irvine competes on Thursday, racing in both the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch Race. Last year Irvine lifted the nation winning a gold medal in the Scratch Race within half an hour of securing silver in the Individual Pursuit. This year the competitions are once again held on the same day, to ensure an equally tense competition. Under 23 European Bronze Medallist in the Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race, Ryan Mullen, will also be competing in the Pursuit on Thursday, having impressed in his Senior Debut at the World Cup in Mexico this year, where he finished in 7th place.

Speaking from Cali, ahead of the event, Irish Head Coach Brian Nugent said "The team have had a successful World Cup campaign building up to this. It will be a tough World Championships, as the World's is always a different level. The best riders in the World will be here, and in their best form. But we're looking forward to that. It's what we've been building up to all year. We're ready for the challenge, and we're here to compete for medals."

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships take place in Cali, Colombia, from the 26th February to the 2nd March 2014.

Full Team:
Martyn Irvine: Scratch Race, Points Race, Individual Pursuit
Ryan Mullen: Individual Pursuit
Caroline Ryan: Scratch Race, Points Race, Individual Pursuit

SCHEDULE (All times are approximate):

Wednesday:
8pm Local Time (1am Irish Time) Women's Scratch Race, 10km (Caroline Ryan)

Thursday:
12pm Local Time (5pm Irish Time): Men's Individual Pursuit, 4km (Martyn Irvine, Ryan Mullen)
7pm Local Time (12pm Irish Time): Men's Scratch Race, 15km (Martyn Irvine)

Friday:
2pm Local Time (7pm Irish Time): Women's Individual Pursuit, 3km (Caroline Ryan)
9pm Local Time (2am Irish Time) Men's Points Race, 40km (Martyn Irvine)

Saturday:
9pm Local Time (2am Irish Time): Women's Points Race, 25km (Caroline Ryan