Belgian International Track Meet Results
A team of 11 Irish riders made the trip to Belgium for the Belgian
Track International over Easter Weekend. A mix of male and female riders spread
across Elite and Junior categories contained experienced heads and determined
youth. Read more about the team here.
Youngster Elliott McKeegan and George Sevastopulo made an
early impact, taking second and fourth in a field of 18 riders in the Points
race qualifier for the Men’s Junior Omnium. Max Fitzgerald and Philip O’Connor
got their weekend underway in the second heat of the same competition,
finishing 12th and 16th respectively.
O’Connor found himself battling for a podium in the Junior
Men’s Points Race however, but just missed out, finishing fourth behind a
strong top three.
Three junior riders got amongst it in the Junior Men’s
Scratch race. George Sevastopulo was the top Irish rider, finishing eighth. He
was joined by Max Fitzgerald in 10th and Elliott McKeegan in 19th.
Mia Griffin was another rider battling for a podium on the
first day, but the Irish representative was just pipped in the Elite Women’s
Points race as she took fourth. Erin Creighton, the only other Irish rider in
the race event took 23rd.
Mya Doocey and Rhiannon Dolan got the team events underway
as they rode together in the Junior Women’s Madison, finishing 9th
overall.
The Tempo race in the Junior Men’s Omnium event saw more
strong performances from riders in green, as Max Fitzgerald took 10th,
followed closely by George Sevastopulo in 11th, with Elliott McKeegan
following in 19th.
The trio followed this up with the Elimination race, where
Sevastopulo was highest placed Irish rider in 15th, followed by
Fitzgerald in 17th and McKeegan in 19th.
McKeegan unfortunately did not start the Points race in the
Omnium, but teammate Sevastopulo took ninth, ahead of Fitzgerald in 17th.
The Elite Women’s Elimination race saw Emma Jeffers finish 21st
in a strong field, that started at 40 riders. Erin Creighton was one of the
riders who missed out on the finals, narrowly missing the cut off in the qualifying
round.
Oisin Ferrity and Stefan Caulfield-Dreier missed out on a
place in the final of the U23 Points race, finishing 17th and 19th
respectively in their qualifying round.
The Junior Women’s Omnium opened with a Scratch event, and
saw Rhiannon Dolan take 14th, with Mya Doocey following in 21st.
Doocey came into her own in the Tempo race in the Omnium, taking eighth, with Dolan
also improving on her earlier result, finishing 11th. The pair were
on track again for the Omnium’s Elimination, where Dolan took ninth, ahead of Doocey
in 19th. Dolan ended the day with a top 10 in the overall Omnium standings,
while Doocey took 19th.
Philip O’Connor and Max Fitzgerald were the Irish
representatives in the Junior Men’s Madison, and came across the line in ninth.
Mia Griffin was amongst the action for the Scratch event in
the Elite Women’s Omnium, and took seventh. Griffin remained in the top 10 in
the Tempo event, taking eighth. The Elimination race saw Griffin finish 21st
in a race that saw several favourites caught out early. Her performance across
the day saw Griffin finish out the day in sixth overall.
Another large field in the Men’s Elite Elimination event saw
Irish riders miss out, as Oisin Ferrity and Stefan Caulfield-Dreier finished 14th
and 17th in their respective qualifiers.
Griffin was on track again for the Women’s Elite Scratch on
the final day of racing. She took fifth in the final.
Oisin Ferrity was hoping to follow Griffin’s lead in the Elite
Men’s Scratch, but fell victim to a crash that left six riders with a DNF.
The Elite Women’s Madison saw Griffin and Creighton join
forces once again. The pair put in another strong performance but narrowly
missed out on a podium place, finishing fourth.
Stefan Caulfield-Dreier found himself paired with Dutch rider
Sten Verzijl for the Elite Men’s Madison, but the pair could only muster an 11th
place finish.
Results from all three days are available here: