IRELAND WOMEN’S TEAM pursuit track cyclists took a major step towards Olympic qualification with a brilliant silver medal at the UCI Nations Cup in Hong Kong.
After breaking their own national record en route to the final, Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe faced the in-form New Zealand in Friday’s gold medal race.
New Zealand — who also won the opening Nations Cup event in Adelaide last month — reeled in and caught Ireland in the closing laps to make it back-to-back golds.
Women Team Pursuit, Round 1️⃣: 🥇
— UCI Track Cycling (@UCI_Track) March 15, 2024
Women Team Pursuit, Round 2️⃣: 🥇@CyclingNZL catch @CyclingIreland with two laps to go in Hong Kong. Looking unstoppable in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣ #TissotNationsCup #TrackCycling #OlympicCycling pic.twitter.com/YSNa3bREiC
As well as a silver medal and new national record, Ireland — who started the week ranked sixth — cemented their place in the Olympic standings. The top 10 teams after next month’s Nations Cup event in Canada will qualify for the Olympics.
Ireland recorded the second-fastest time overall in qualifying, 4:20.503, before setting a new provisional national record of 4:15.697 in their first-round ride against Australia.
“We were absolutely gunning for a podium spot today and it’s good to get three really solid rides out,” Gillespie said afterwards.
“We’re really looking forward to the next few months, building on our performance. Today was a high and emotional day, a big box ticked.”
Griffin added: “It’s nice coming home with a silver medal and giving us confidence going into the next few months is really important.
“It’s such a good stepping stone towards breaking into those faster times – we’re getting very competitive against the bigger nations.”
Erin Creighton, the fifth member of the Irish team in Hong Kong, finished ninth in the Women’s Elimination Race on Friday.
Griffin and Sharpe return to the track on Saturday for the Women’s Madison.
