(Photo: Jean-Baptiste Benavent)
Ireland will be represented by a strong team of riders at the UEC Paracycling European Championships from 25-29 May 2022 in upper Austria.
Speaking about the Championships, National Coach Neill Delahaye said:
“This is the 1st time we have competed in the UEC European Paracycling Road Championships. Last year was the Inaugural Championships but it fell at the wrong time for us during Covid restrictions and pre-Tokyo. This year we are delighted to have the chance to race.It’s been a busy May already with the 2 UCI World Cups in Belgium & Germany and the riders are looking forward to coming into this event in Austria with some good racing form.
“The team has seen some changes since Elzach. Unfortunately Gary O'Reilly has not recovered from crash injuries sustained in the Road Race in Germany and will not be racing. We're excited to have another new tandem pairing racing this week, this time with our male endurance bike. Damien Vereker will be riding with new pilot Dillon Corkery for this event. Dillon comes here in great form as his performance in the Tour de la Manche last week shows. Damien is an experienced stoker and has progressed his fitness significantly in recent months so it will be great to see them in the mix here amongst the best in Europe. Katie-George and Linda, Ronan, Richael, Declan and Chris are all super motivated to pick up where they left off a couple of weeks ago and deliver their best here at the Euros.”
Irish Squad:
Women’s B: Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly
Men’s B: Damien Vereker & Dillon Corkery
Men C2: Chris Burns
Men C4: Ronan Grimes
Women’s C3 Richael Timothy
Men’s H3: Declan Slevin
Schedule
Thursday 26th
Men’s H3 Time Trial
Declan Slevin
Friday 27th
Women’s B Time Trial
Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly
Men’s B Time Trial
Damien Vereker & Dillon Corkery
Women’s C3 Time Trial
Richael Timothy
Men C2 Time Trial
Chris Burns
Men C4: Time Trial
Ronan Grimes
Saturday 28th
Men’s H3 Road Race
Declan Slevin
Sunday 29th
Women’s B Road Race
Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly
Men’s B Road Race
Damien Vereker & Dillon Corkery
Women’s C3 Road Race
Richael Timothy
Men C2 Road Race
Chris Burns
Classifications
T 1-2 – (Tricycle) Denotes athletes who cannot ride a bicycle due to balance issues and compete on a tricycle. There are two categories (T1 and T2) depending on the level of disability.
C 1-5 – (Cycling) Denotes athletes riding a bicycle who have lost a limb or lost significant use of a limb. They can compete with prosthetic limbs. C1 cyclists have most severe neurological dysfunction but less lower limb disability. C2 have a disability in one leg but can pedal with both (including prostheses) while C3 riders usually pedal with one leg.
B – (Tandem) Denotes athletes with a visual impairment, riding in a tandem pair. A sighted pilot steers the cycle from the front and the visually impaired rider (known as the stoker) competes at the rear.
H 1-5 – (Hand Cycle) Denotes athletes without full use of their lower limbs who use a hand bike. There are four functional classes within hand cycling. H1-4 athletes compete in a lying position whereas H5 compete in a kneeling position.