UCI Track World Championships Team Announced
This year’s UCI Track World Championships head to South America, as Santiago, Chile plays host.
Ireland will be sending a team of six riders to the event, taking place from October 22nd – 26th.
Reigning European Champion in the Elimination event Lara Gillespie will ride for Ireland again, having become a stalwart over recent years. Gillespie found success at last year’s World Championships, taking bronze in the Points race in Denmark. The 2024 Olympian has also had a strong season on the road, making her Tour de France debut over the summer.
Erin Creighton, team-mate to Gillespie at last year’s Olympic Games, makes her return to the track. Creighton rode in green for Ireland at the Junior/U23 European Track Championships in Portugal in July, and more recently on the road for Ireland at Rás na mBan.
Sisters Aoife and Caoimhe O’Brien are both named in the team for this year’s Worlds. Both sisters represented Ireland at the Road World Championships in Switzerland in 2024, and although both have ridden for Ireland on the track previously, including the Hyeres GP earlier this year, this will be a first Track World Championships for the pair. Both had very strong starts to the road season, which has continued for Caoimhe, while a crash on the track at Sundrive and resulting injuries have hampered Aoife’s road season.
Fiona Mangan also makes her Track Worlds debut in Chile. The Limerick woman previously represented Ireland on the road, including in last year’s Road World Championships in Switzerland. Mangan also made her Grand Tour debut this summer with an appearance at the Tour de France Femmes.
Emma Jeffers rounds out the Irish contingent for this year’s World Championships. The current U23 Road National Champion has already represented Ireland at the European Track Championships earlier this year, but this will also be a debut at World Championship level for the 20-year-old.
Track coach Dan Henchy said of the selection: “The team selected for the UCI Track World Champs are all familiar names from previous National Team selections but there’s a mix of experience when it comes to track cycling at this level. Last year Lara won her first Elite Worlds medal with bronze in the points race and has since added a maiden European title in the elimination. She comes into this event on the back of her best road season to date and we’re looking forward to the opportunity that Chile represents to continue learning how best to balance the combined prep for road and track.
Erin has finally recovered from her crash at the Gent GP and brings a wealth of experience as a member of the Paris Olympic Team and a reserve rider for the 2023 Track Worlds in Glasgow. For the rest of the team this will be a track Worlds debut, although each rider has significant high-level experience. Aoife and Emma both featured at the European Champs in February and Caoimhe made a return to the track team at the Toulon International festival in May. Last but not least, Fiona makes her track cycling debut at Worlds after featuring at several training camps over the past few years.
It's a first visit to Santiago for all of us but we’re looking forward to challenging the Worlds best. The event schedule for the next three years has been released by the UCI and it features a significant number of events outside of Europe - this Worlds is the ideal opportunity for the newer riders to learn how to manage the challenge of competing in different time zones with lengthy flights. We’ve been further challenged with our traditional training base in Mallorca closed for renovations but we’re looking forward to training in Grenchen and Anadia with a race in Aigle as preparation for the trip to South America.”
More information on the event is available here.