Cycling Ireland’s team pursuit squad likely to seal Olympic place on Friday

The Irish team pursuit squad is poised to secure Olympic qualification on Friday, with a strong ride in the Hong Kong track nations cup likely enough to seal a place in Paris 2024.

The team has put in a strong campaign, with fourth in the European championships in January and eighth in the Adelaide nations cup in February boosting its Olympic ranking to sixth.

The top ten in that ranking will secure a place in the Olympic Games, putting the team in a very strong position heading into the Hong Kong event.

“We know if we perform well in Hong Kong we can put it to bed and focus our attention on preparing for Paris,” Cycling Ireland’s High Performance Director Ian Dyer told The Irish Times recently.

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Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Alice Sharpe and Kelly Murphy will go in the qualification round early on Friday morning, with the first round and medal finals to take place on the same day.

Erin Creighton will ride the elimination race, while Griffin and Sharpe will contest the Madison on Saturday. Gillespie will compete in the women’s omnium events on Sunday. She was fourth in that event in the European championships in January, missing a medal by one point.