Women's Team Pursuit Guaranteed Olympic Qualifying Points At 2014 UEC Track Elite European Championships

Ireland's Cycling Team had a solid start to day one of the 2014 UEC Track Elite European Championships in Baie-Mahault, Guadaloupe, which started last night with the Team Pursuit events. The Irish women were the first team on the track, and set a strong time of 4.52.221 over the 4km distance. With this being the debut track event for half the team, the time put them in an impressive 8th place, guaranteeing them Olympic qualifying points as they compete in the next round this afternoon, facing the Italian Team. The Men's Team were less fortunate, as a crash in the final lap put them out of the race. These Championships mark the first step in the Rio Olympic Qualification Process for the Irish Team, with riders competing across Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines in the French Caribbean Velodrome. The European Championships run from Wednesday the 15th October to Sunday the 19th October.

The Women's Team Pursuit of Lydia Boylan, Lauren Creamer, Caroline Ryan and Melanie Spath started well, recording the 4th fastest opening kilometre, before finishing in 8th place, 11.93 seconds behind leaders and defending Champions Great Britain. As points in this event go towards qualifying for the Olympics, they will compete again with an opportunity to gain places. In the next round today they will face Italy in Heat 2. A good time in this round could see them climb places, with the fastest finishers competing for minor finals tonight.

The Men's Team Pursuit Team was unlucky in their qualifier last night, performing strongly in the qualifying 4km heat, before crashing in the closing lap. The fastest time posted in the qualifying rounds of the men's event was 4.12.022 by Great Britain.

Speaking after the heats in the outdoors Velodrome in Guadeloupe, Cycling Ireland's Head Coach Brian Nugent said "this was a really solid debut by both teams into the Elite ranks. The women's team proved their potential by making it through to the final rounds tomorrow. The men were so unlucky. They were on such a good ride, placing in the top 6 until a tangle in the final corner, remarkable for a new team. There's so much more to come from both teams. It's incredibly exciting for the future."

While the full schedule for the riders is not fully confirmed, Irish riders will compete across many of the events. The UEC Track Elite European Championships run from the 15th - 19th October.