Team Ireland - Paris 2024 Qualification Tracker

[dodge 1,024]

Team should be Healy and Archie Ryan. Will likely be Healy and Dunbar. 
 

Women’s rider could be any of Armitage, Mangan or Gillespie. Won’t be Griffin as she hasn’t been on the roads at all this year (not literally but maybe 5/6 days max) and none in about 3 months (also think they’d let her do the ITT if they were choosing her)

 

We won’t win a medal so hoping they bring Armitage or Mangan just to boost the numbers 

 

As for the delay, it’s likely down to picture availability IMO. They have had photoshoots for every sport (if not every athlete) and the main protagonists have been busy on the continent 

[Ogreman 355]

35 minutes ago, dodge said:

As for the delay, it’s likely down to picture availability IMO. They have had photoshoots for every sport (if not every athlete) and the main protagonists have been busy on the continent

That's a good shout. Has to be Armitage though if that is the case. Like they settled for 2 of the golfers and Ben Healy was never on the cards to be available to do some posing. (unless it is the get Sammy an Olympics appearance pick because he of course would also be unavailable.)

 

Look I love Archie Ryan but like he is just a younger and slightly punchier version of Eddie Dunbar, Biggest difference is he is not as crash prone as Eddie still crash prone though and does come with a chronic knee injury that could end his career prematurely attached. I would be delighted if we picked Archie but I just don't see the case for him over Eddie. He is just too similar strengths wise. (Just on most recent results better form but I assume this was decided a while ago.)

Darren Rafferty is the 'most likely to be actually useful to Ben Healy when the race kicks off properly' pick. Better one day racer and not as much of a pure climber. After Ben he is the one the route suits the most. (Well I suppose just based off the route that title is probably actually Rory Townsend's, it would just need to be a 1.2 race.) 

 

I agree it is probably Eddie but everything else is decided so why not speculate wildly on the last remaining selection decision.

[mpjmcevoy 362]

1 hour ago, Ogreman said:

There is nothing quite like the joy of a completely unexpected last minute quota.

You spend so much time analysing whether a given athlete will or won't make it and then just out of nowhere a quota you didn't even know was on the cards. Qualifying a full squad in the canoe slalom has to be strangest story of this qualification cycle for us. Especially in the context of most of our comparable sports size wise like mondern pentathlon, triathlon, judo have struggled this olympic cycle.

 

What do we think the delay is with the road cycling announcement, we're basically the only ones left in the field yet to announce our team. Megan Armitage did just have covid so maybe that is what it is although I had wondered given Lara Gillespie and Alice Sharpe were selected for the madison and that we rejected a tt spot that they could be indications that Mia Griffin would get the nod for the road race but the race is just about hilly enough to justify picking Armitage. Obviously Lara Gillespie is our best rider but she can't do everything.

 

Also who the we think the second men's rider is. Eddie wasn't exactly in great form at tour of austria I guess he should be in better form in a few weeks with the vuelta on the horizon. Sammy well at least he got himself a top 5 and his leadout has been hopeless even if he himself hasn't had the legs either. Darren Rafferty hasn't raced since nationals. Is there a case for Ryan Mullen if all we are realistically asking our second rider to do is help control the early breakaway for 200km. The only other thing any of them in their current form could realistically do to assist Ben Healy is get in the early break but how much value is there in that given that the point of getting in the break when you have a contender is so you don't have to chase but we only have two riders so if one of them is in the break there is no one there to chase with anyway.

Anyway hopefully Ben gets his stage win this week, he deserves one but either way he absolutely has the legs to contend at the Olympics.

More so than most races, even the Worlds, the Olympics pushes a;lliances - no team is big enough to actually control the race - GBR came the closest in 2012, and might have pulled it off if they could have got one more team to work with them, but they were all too afraid of Cav. Most of the race, especially for the small teams, will be about reacting, and picking wheels, and trying not to use up matches. The Parcours is quite punchy, might favour an Ardennes rider, and ben Healy certainly fits that category - he has not been QUITE on last years form, but he's still riding well, and is due a good day.

 

I do have a hunch that while the favourite is probably going to be MvdP (he won't be tired out from the Tour, nor split over two disciplines like pidcock), a key wheel to watch will be Aliphillipe - he's bound to play the home heroics at some point, and he might be the guy to follow for the break of the day - and in the Olympics - the break of the day always has a shot. Obviously a lot depends on Pogacar's form post Tour as he obviously excells at these hilly classic style courses - the inclusion of cobbles on some of those hills favours MvdP, I think, though.

[dodge 1,024]

54 minutes ago, Ogreman said:

That's a good shout. Has to be Armitage though if that is the case. Like they settled for 2 of the golfers and Ben Healy was never on the cards to be available to do some posing. (unless it is the get Sammy an Olympics appearance pick because he of course would also be unavailable.)

 

Look I love Archie Ryan but like he is just a younger and slightly punchier version of Eddie Dunbar, Biggest difference is he is not as crash prone as Eddie still crash prone though and does come with a chronic knee injury that could end his career prematurely attached. I would be delighted if we picked Archie but I just don't see the case for him over Eddie. He is just too similar strengths wise. (Just on most recent results better form but I assume this was decided a while ago.)

Darren Rafferty is the 'most likely to be actually useful to Ben Healy when the race kicks off properly' pick. Better one day racer and not as much of a pure climber. After Ben he is the one the route suits the most. (Well I suppose just based off the route that title is probably actually Rory Townsend's, it would just need to be a 1.2 race.) 

 

I agree it is probably Eddie but everything else is decided so why not speculate wildly on the last remaining selection decision.

I’m not sure you’ve seen much of Archie Ryan if you think Rafferty is a better shout here. Ryan is better than him in every way. Now Darren is a few years behind so he can catch up but Archie is way ahead of him at the moment 

 

 

Edited July 16 by dodge

[Ogreman 355]

3 minutes ago, dodge said:

I’m not sure you’ve seen much of Archie Ryan if you think Rafferty is a better shout here.

Man, don't you dare call me a casual. You can disagree with my opinions but don't do that. Don't do that.

I spend my time on this forum talking about things like obscure boxing results and you doubt that I watch Tour of Slovakia, Settimana Coppi e Bartali or even Tour de l'Avenir?

 

Archie Ryan is one of if not my favourite cyclists in the world right now, he's amazing. Darren Rafferty is amazing too and yeah given the 2 year age gap maybe Archie is slightly ahead of Darren right now but there really isn't that much in it. Archie has just gotten more opportunities to ride for himself this season while Darren has mostly been stuck on domestique duty. Hopefully EF take both to the Vuelta but if there is only room for one I would be interested to see which they take. Darren Rafferty has arguably been trusted a bit more by EF this season hacing ridden 3 world tour stage races (Catalunya, Romandie and Dauphine) plus Eschborn Frankfurt and De Brabantse Pijl (I know technically not a world tour race.). Ryan has ridden 2 world tour stage races and one of them was tour down under which doesn't really count, Basque country was the other and he did of course get picked for La Fleche Wallonne and Liege Bastogen Liege. But the one day races are the key point here, Eschborn Frankfurt and De Brabantse Pijl look a lot more like the Olympics route than Fleche or Liege. The climbs just aren't long or steep enough for Archie and he is too light to contribute on the flat.

 

All of the logic of why you might not pick Eddie also applies to Archie, even though I might agree that Archie might be a better option than Eddie given his one day results this season, depends on how close Eddie is to his best. Darren Rafferty just offers something different. 

 

 

 

[dodge 1,024]

I didn’t mean to offend you, but we differ wildly on our evaluation of the two riders. Look at the races Archie has won already in the pro ranks. They’re not mountainous. 
 

My logic behind picking Archie ahead of Eddie is that I think he’s a better rider. It’s not that deep

[OlympicIRL 5,530]

I’ve been so busy preparing for going to the Olympics that I’m out of the loop about where it’s being broadcast in Ireland this time (outside of RTÉ and BBC  ).

Is it on Eurosport here this time as well or is it again on Discovery Plus? Just want to know the best way for us in Ireland to catch as much of the action as possible.

Edited July 17 by OlympicIRL

[dodge 1,024]

Both. Eurosport will have extra broadcast channels (same as Tokyo) but everything will be streamed on discovery plus (same as Tokyo)

 

BBC and RTE have live coverage everyday (all day) but no extra streams.  
 

Next Wednesday, RTE 2 are showing Irelands games in the sevens whereas Eurosport are showing the whole tournament. Eurosport also showing the football etc before the opening ceremony etc 

 

On Saturday, RTE’s coverage starts at 09:15 and ends at 22:30.
 

Next Tuesday RTE starts at 06:55 (rowing heats)

 

 

[OlympicIRL 5,530]

42 minutes ago, dodge said:

Both. Eurosport will have extra broadcast channels (same as Tokyo) but everything will be streamed on discovery plus (same as Tokyo)

 

BBC and RTE have live coverage everyday (all day) but no extra streams.  
 

Next Wednesday, RTE 2 are showing Irelands games in the sevens whereas Eurosport are showing the whole tournament. Eurosport also showing the football etc before the opening ceremony etc 

 

On Saturday, RTE’s coverage starts at 09:15 and ends at 22:30.
 

Next Tuesday RTE starts at 06:55 (rowing heats)

 

 

Pretty similar to last time then! I’ll be at the entire rugby sevens tournament apart from the first day (travel to Paris on Wednesday morning from Germany and will see men’s football in the evening).

[dodge 1,024]

Enjoy mate!