The Irish squad has had a frustrating start at the track cycling world championships in Paris on Wednesday, with the team pursuit squad recording their second-fastest time ever yet missing out on qualification.
Emily Kay, Lara Gillespie, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe placed ninth, with the top eight teams going through to the first round on Thursday evening.
The quartet rode strongly in the event, covering the 4,000 metre distance in four minutes 19.934 seconds. This was less than 0.2 seconds off the national record of four minutes 19.738 they set at the UCI Track Nations Cup in Glasgow in April.
However, a number of other teams have upped their game since last year’s World Championships, where the Irish riders finished a fine fifth. This improvement nudged the Irish riders down the results sheet and the squad finished up 0.815 seconds off the time of the USA, who progressed through as the eighth-fastest team.
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The team was initially hampered by a technical error in their race and had to stop and restart.
Kay said that the team had aimed to make it through to the next round but that there were some positives to take away from the race.
“I think we’re both pleased and disappointed. We thought we were capable of being in the top eight,” she said. “We would have liked to have qualified and got a second ride but that’s the fastest we’ve ever qualified. We’ve taken a step forward so it’s bittersweet.
“Olympic qualifying is the top 10 now so we’re within that and we definitely know there’s things we can change to take that step forward. We’re amongst it [the top 10 in the world] and there’s a few on front of us that aren’t too far away. We can change some things and hopefully take more steps forward.”
Gillespie looked solid for much of the scratch race but after riding prominently towards the end she slipped back in the finale and crossed the line a disappointed 17th.
The former European junior champion was caught out when riders surged around her towards the conclusion of the 10 kilometre race, with their close proximity making it very difficult to hold her place.
“It was going good until the last five laps,” she said afterwards. “I was in a good position, and I got into a good place. But I got into a pinch point where I had to backpedal to get back around. I probably should have tried to squeeze into that gap but it was quite dangerous.
“I did my best and I put out really good power. I gave it everything and I’m looking forward to building on this and getting more race experience at this level. I’m happy I got this opportunity.”
Defending champion Martina Fidanza won with a very strong sprint. Gillespie had tracked her during the race but was in the wrong place when the battle for positions got underway.
Racing continues on Thursday with two Irish women in action. Orla Walsh competes in the sprint qualifiers in the afternoon, while Sharpe contests the elimination race in the evening.
