Twelve Riders to Represent Ireland at Road World Championships in Montreal
A team of 12 riders has been named to represent Ireland at the upcoming UCI Road World Championships in Montreal from September 20th to 26th.
Having taken bronze in last year's Road Race in Rwanda, EF Education EasyPost rider Ben Healy returns for the men’s elite race. The former national champion is no stranger to Montreal having raced here previously as part of the UCI World Tour, and comes into Worlds having put in another aggressive performance at the most recent Tour de France. Healy is joined in this elite men’s selection by EF Education teammate Darren Rafferty, a former national champion in his own right, who arrives to Quebec having a strong and steady 2026. Rafferty’s efforts were also integral to Healy’s success in Rwanda 12 months ago.
Cofidis rider Jamie Meehan has ridden in green at Junior and U23 World and European Championships previously but steps up to the Elite level for 2026. The Donegal man was given an opportunity as a stagiaire with Cofidis in mid-2025 and never looked back, consistently placing himself inside the top 15 of some of the biggest races on the continent. Ryan Mullen rounds out the Elite Men’s selection for this World Championships. The NSN rider added another TT National Championship to his tally in June and will ride for Ireland in both the Road Race and TT in Montreal.
The Hagens Berman Jayco pairing of David Gaffney and Adam Rafferty will be ride in the U23 Road Race, with Rafferty also taking on the U23 TT. Gaffney took bronze at last year’s European Championships in the junior road race and has adjusted well to the U23 ranks in his first year. Rafferty, who also took a bronze medal at last year’s European Champs, successfully defended his U23 TT National Championship in June and has consistently finished at the sharp end of the field in races all year.
Seth Dunwoody will also ride both the U23 TT and Road Race in Montreal. The 20-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider claimed his first Elite Road Race National Championship in Mayo in June and more recently added his first European Championship title, taking the U23 Points Race at the Junior & U23 Track European Championships in Cottbus, Germany. Liam O’Brien rounds out the U23 selection. O’Brien will ride the road race in Montreal, and comes into Worlds having a solid year with his Lidl Trek Future Racing team including stand out performances at the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta and Ronde de l’Isard to mention but two.
Emer Heverin comes in as the sole Junior Woman representative in this year’s selection. The first-year junior has had a real break out year as part of Cycling Ireland’s Performance Pathway Programme (PPP), taking both junior road race and TT national championships as well as becoming senior criterium national champion. Heverin added a European Championship gold and silver medal on the track in Cottbus in July, and was in the top five at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and on GC at the Vuelta a Cantabria Femenina with CAMS-Majaco. Heverin is set to ride both the Road Race and TT in Quebec.
A three-rider team will take on the junior men’s road race. Recent junior men’s road race champion Freddie Winkley makes his national team debut and will also feature in the TT. Winkley will be joined in both events by this year’s Junior Tour of Ireland winner Rían McCrystal. The Cannibal B Victorious rider featured in the national team at the Junior Tourand will be joined by Junior Tour teammate Hugh Óg Mulhearne at the World Championships in Montreal. Mulhearne, also a member of the Cycling Ireland PPP, had a very strong start to 2026 and saw his hard work rewarded with a place in the national team for Rás Tailteann.
Cycling Ireland Head Coach Neill Delahaye reflected on the selection for this year’s Worlds; "Quotas were tight in some categories and provided a big challenge for the selection panel for this event, and in others we had more a more generous quota allocation but fielded much less interest. There’s no doubt the courses in Montreal provide a tough challenge which suits a particular type of rider and lends itself to selecting teams that can support specific strategies to be competitive in the race, so it’s understandable not everyone has put their hand up for this one.
It certainly feels like we are building on some momentum we have been generating in recent Championship events, and it’s great to see some of our current and past HP Pathway riders making their World Championships debut or progress into the next age category. I’ve no doubt they are well positioned to benefit from this event."
More information on the upcoming World Championships is available here.