Cycling Ireland has taken the difficult decision to forgo attendance at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Australia. Read the rationale behind the decision here 👇 cyclingireland.ie/news-item/cycl…
Sean Kelly criticize Ireland's withdrawl from UCI World Championships - "I feel that the government and the sports council of Ireland are not really pushing much into cycling"
CyclingThursday, 01 September 2022 at 03:00
The UCI Road World Championships are just two weeks away, and the Ireland team has opted not to participate. Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly has voiced his concern and opposed the decision.
In a conversation with Cyclingweekly, he said, “It’s great to compete at the World Championships because you’re there with all the other big cycling nations, and you’re representing your country.”
He blames the sports council and government for not encouraging cycling as a professional sport for youngsters.“I feel that we should have more numbers there in the professional peloton, but for some reason or another, we don’t. I feel that the government and the sports council of Ireland are not really pushing much into cycling."
Ireland Cycling team disclosed that lack of financial means was the main reason they decided to take such a hard decision. But Kelly says these are small excuses, “When I did my first Worlds in 1977, I wasn’t going to do the Worlds because Cycling Ireland wasn’t sending anybody," Kelly said. “There were a lot of times where I had to pay for my own later because I reckon I had a chance to get a medal or do a good ride, so it was either my team who paid for me or I had to pay myself.”
Kelly felt sorry for riders who were eagerly preparing for the event only to be disappointed later. “They would certainly be very keen to go. And with the crop they have there, there is talent coming through,” concluded Kelly.
claps 0visitors 89
Just in
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
Nov 05, 13:04
0
Popular news
Latest comments
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024
- I'm loving the level of competition and the compositions of teams in 2025. Sure Pogi had an historic 2024. Slate is clean in 2025. And lots of great athletes--MvdP, Vingo, Primoz, Remco, Marc Hircshi, Pidcock, Carlos Rodriquez--and strong teams want to win. I think Pogi will have another great season in 2025. But I think we will talk about others having great seasons too. Who? I don't know. I'll watch the classics and tours and will root for spirited competition.pidginbil24-12-2024
- Sorry but 50€ a day for an international hotel was already a joke 6 years ago. Combined with the fact a lot of them are international chains, this is just capitalism as the West has taught. I think the business term used now is « dynamic pricing « and it happens everywhere. Maybe some will now reflect on how 3rd world delegations are discriminated by prices when they have always had to travel to meetings, hence distorting results and silverware. We will also still have to see how things work out visa-wise, how many participants will be refused as in Glasgow and on what basis? As regards Pog, the coach had better put in place a strategy to avoid his boycotting for personal political reasons, that’s at least as big a problem as logistics.Mistermaumau24-12-2024