The Irish team pursuiters – a new line-up since the Paris OIympics – have taken a really significant steo forward as these European Championships (Photo: Roberto Bettini-Sprint Cycling Agency)

The Irish team pursuiters – comprised of a new selection of riders since the Paris Olympics 18 months ago – have made very significant gains during their latest outing, at the European Track Championships in Konya Turkey.

They set down a useful competitive baseline for themselves at both the Europeans, in Zolder, 12 months ago and the Worlds in Chile, last October. And now they have blown out of the water their times from 2025, beating some of them by almost 10 seconds today, Sunday.

The quartet – Fiona Mangan, Esther Wong, Aoife O’Brien and Erin Creighton – have also ensured they advance to the next round of the competition after their opening round, in qualifying today.

They went around the track in a time of 4:21.973 and though that is still some way of the national record of 4:12.447 – set by the well-drilled and much more experienced Olympic quartet – their progress compared to last year is really significant.

For example, at the Worlds in late October, they clocked 4:31.154 in qualifying, meaning they have today, just over three months later, taken more than nine seconds off that time. And at the Europeans of 12 months ago, they rode 4:29.432 in qualifying and 4:30.775 in the first round.

Today they were 7th in qualifying, some 15.464 seconds down in the Germans, who were fastest, meaning the Irish were among the eight teams to advance to the next round.

Also in action today for Ireland were Matti Dobbins and Emma Jeffers, in the men’s elimination race and women’s scratch race respectively. Dobbins was 7th in the elimination race qualifier and then 13th in the final while Jeffers placed 10th in the scratch race.

The European title scratch race was won by Belgian Hélène Hesters, who is a team mate of the Irish rider on Liv AlUla Jayco and who was taking her fourth European track title after winning three as a junior and U23.

Dobbins’s elimination race was won by Danish rider Tobias Aagaard Hansen, now a four-time senior European champion on the track and having won three senior world titles. There will be more action for the Irish team in Turkey over the next three days.

Women’s Team Pursuit | Qualifying