UCI Road and Para-cycling World Championships Preview

UCI Road and Para-cycling World Championships Preview 

The 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling World Championships get underway on Saturday 21st of September in Zurich, Switzerland. Ireland will be well represented with a squad of 24 athletes competing across various age categories. 

Irish riders are coming into the championships following the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, combined with recent strong performances at World Tour level and on the international stage. 

In the Men’s Elite and Women’s Elite categories the decision has been made to focus solely on the Road Races. This is a performance-based decision, made in conjunction with the relevant riders and Cycling Ireland High Performance Unit (HPU), due with the availability of athletes, their professional commitments and where it has been agreed highest performance potential lies for Ireland at these Championships. 

Four Irish riders will contest the Men’s Elite Road Race, including Ben Healy who had a top ten finish in the Men’s Road Race at the Paris Olympic Games and a strong performance in the Tour de France. Fresh from the Vuelta a Espana where he recorded two stage wins, Eddie Dunbar is one to watch. Healy and Dunbar will be joined by Conn McDunphy and Archie Ryan. 

Unfortunately, Megan Armitage has made the difficult decision to withdraw from competition, having previously been named as part of the Women’s Elite squad for the championships. Armitage, who made her Olympic debut this summer, made the decision, fully supported by the Cycling Ireland HPU, following a long and intensive season. 

The Women’s Elite category is combined with the Women’s Under 23 category. Joining the current National Elite Women Time Trial and Road Race Champion Fiona Mangan will be the O’Brien sisters. Aoife steps into the squad having been selected as reserve rider. She will join her sister Caoimhe, both of whom are Under 23, riding in the Women’s Elite Road Race alongside Mangan. 

Following their outstanding success at the recent Paralympic Games, Katie-George Dunlevy, piloted by Linda Kelly, and Josephine Healion, piloted by Eve McCrystal, will both compete in the Women’s B Time Trial and Road Race. The para-cyclists face the added challenge of having such a short turnaround between the Paralympic Games and these championships. They are also the first Irish athletes in action at the championships, with the Women’s B Time Trial taking place on morning of Sunday the 22nd of September. 

There is great strength and depth in the Junior and Under 23 squads, reflecting the ongoing commitment and investment from Cycling Ireland in athlete pathway development. 

A squad of five riders will represent Ireland in the Men’s Under 23. Leading the team is Darren Rafferty who will be looking to improve on his fifth place finish in the Men’s Under 23 Time Trial from the World Championships last year. His brother Adam will also ride in the Men’s Under 23 Time Trial. Darren Rafferty, who is competing in the World Tour with EF Education – Easy Post has shown promising form this year and is certainly one to watch in the Road Race. Liam O’Brien, Jamie Meehan and Dean Harvey are also selected to form a strong and cohesive team for the Men’s Under 23 Road Race.

In a definite first for Irish Cycling, Darren and Adam will also be joined by their sister Aliyah who will be competing as part of the Women’s Junior Squad at the championships. Aliyah will ride in both the Women’s Junior Time Trial and Road Race alongside Lucy Bénézet Minns. They will be joined by Aine Doherty in the Road Race. This threesome have already demonstrated cohesive teamwork and strong form in recent weeks on international duty and are well positioned to build on that experience to be competitive in both Time Trial and Road Races in Zurich.

Five Irish riders will compete in Men Junior events over the course of the championships. All five riders selected have represented Ireland at Junior Nations Cup events throughout the year, gaining valuable international competition experience. 

Seth Dunwoody and Conor Murphy are two powerhouses that have shown many times this season they can mix it with the very best of Junior talent internationally. They both will ride the Time Trial. The team of four for the Road Race are Dunwoody, Patrick Casey, Cal Tutty and David Gaffney. These riders have combined very effectively on international duty during this season and are well positioned to build on those experiences and performances towards competing strongly in Zurich.

The athletes representing Ireland and the event(s) which they are competing in are listed alphabetically below. 

Men Elite Squad

Women Elite Squad

Para-cycling Squad 

Men Under 23 Squad

Men Junior Squad

Women Junior Squad