Cyclo-cross Training Day at McCrystals CX Track
The Cycling Ireland Off Road Commission is staging a cyclo-cross training day aimed primarily at Junior and Under 23 riders from all over the Island of Ireland, Male & Female, that have ambition to compete internationally. The Provinces are also invited to propose any Youth Riders (2nd Year Under 14s and Under 16s) that have engaged well in the race circuit this season and demonstrated a high level of race ability & commensurate race results. [Year of birth 2000-2008]
The training day will take place at McCrystals CX Track, Bellurgan, Co. Louth on Saturday, 11th December at 11am.
This event is aimed to bring people together at one location and enable the Off-road Commission to engage directly with riders & parents and provides the opportunity to assess riders’ capabilities and communicate information around what is required to make international team selection. The Off-road Commission is considering entering a team into the Cyclo-cross World Championships in January 2022 and this event will form part of a process to inform selection. This is not a trials day but we do expect any rider wanting to gain an international selection to turn up. If this is not possible (e.g. Covid illness) that they communicate with us ahead of time. We are aware many riders may be targeting the Provincial Championships the next day, Sunday 12th December. As such, the training will be structured accordingly to enable riders get some biking done without over exerting themselves ahead of Sunday’s race. The short/medium term ambition of the Off-road Commission is to raise the standard of our cyclo-cross riders racing internationally and improve our UCI ranking.
This training day is also a potential 1st step in a longer term strategy to develop cyclo-cross. The Off-road Commission is in discussion with Cycling Ireland around how to further develop the Sport and commence a development pathway for young riders. We are keen to exploit the potential of cyclo-cross fully and develop it more as a performance sport in its own right and also as part of a wider feeder mechanism (potentially with other Off-road disciplines) to dovetail with Cycling Ireland’s High Performance Strategies & Pathways.