Ireland’s European Championship campaign kicks off today in Munich, Germany with the women’s team pursuit squad competing on track aiming to secure qualification to the first round on Friday, 12th August while BMX Freestyler, Ryan Henderson will be looking to book himself a place in the park final on Saturday.

Ireland’s Para-Cycling squad will also be competing this week in the Para-Cycling Road World Championships in Baie-Comeau, Canada from 11-14 August. The squad are coming off the back of a highly successful World Cup last weekend where the squad won gold and silver in the women’s tandem category in both the road race and time trial while Ronan Grimes secured double silver in the C4 category.

The 15-strong Irish Team in Munich is one of the strongest and most diverse in many years with representation on the road, in the velodrome and for the first time, on the BMX Freestyle Park.

After the disappointment of missing out on Tour de France selection, Sam Bennett returns to lead the men’s team over a 209.4-kilometre course, beginning in Murnau a. Staffelsee and finishing in Munich, where they will negotiate five laps of a city-centre loop.

Bennett will be joined by teammate and key lead-out man, Ryan Mullen along with Irish Champion, Rory Townsend, Eddie Dunbar and Matthew Taggart.

Ben Healy, 2022 Time Trial National Champion, will focus solely on the Time Trial. Ryan Mullen, previously fourth at the European Championships will ride both the road race and time trial.

Alice Sharpe and Mia Griffin will represent Ireland in the women’s road race. Sharpe comes into the race in good form having won the Irish Champions jersey at the end of June. Griffin, better known for her track racing pedigree, has also impressed on the road with a top-10 finish on the final stage of the Baloise Ladies Tour in recent weeks.

Kelly Murphy and Joanna Patterson will ride the 24-kilometre Women’s European Championship Time Trial. The pair finished first and second in the Time Trial National Championships with Murphy edging out Patterson by a mere 1.12 seconds over the 32-kilometre course.

The track events run from the 11th to 16th of August and will see seven Irish athletes take to the boards. JB Murphy, Alice Share, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy, Emily Kay and Lara Gillespie will focus on the endurance events while Orla Walsh will focus on the sprint disciplines. JB Murphy scooped a superb bronze medal in the Scratch race last year adding to the bronze won by the Women’s Team Pursuit squad in the 2021 European Championships. Ireland’s track riders will be targeting more success as they compete in a wide range of events throughout the week.

In an exciting development for the sport, Ireland will have representation in BMX Freestyle Park for the first time at a European Championships. Ryan Henderson discovered BMX after breaking his neck in a motocross accident aged 16. The east Belfast athlete has been on a remarkable journey since then and hopes to continue that progression at the European Championships and ultimately become Ireland’s first freestyle representative at an Olympic Games.

Schedule (Irish Time) – European Championships (Munich) and Para-Cycling Road World Championships (Canada)

11th August, Thursday
Track
15:46 – Team Pursuit
Qualifying (Alice Sharpe, Emily Kay, Kelly Murphy, Mia Griffin)

BMX
16:00 – BMX Freestyle (Ryan Henderson)

Para-Cycling
17:30‐ 19:45 – MH3 and MH5 Time Trial (Declan Slevin (MH3), Gary O’Reilly (MH5))

12th August, Friday
Track
11:32 – Team Pursuit First Round
15:30 – Team Pursuit Final
16:47 – Scratch Race Final (Emily Kay)

Para-Cycling
17:30‐ 19:45 MC4 Time Trial (Ronan Grimes)
17:30‐ 19:45 – WB and MB Time Trial (Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal (WB), Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly (WB), Damien Vereker and Dillon Corkery (MB))

13th August, Saturday
Track
09:48 – 500m TT Qualifying (Orla Walsh)
10:46 – Individual Pursuit Qualifying (Kelly Murphy)
16:58 – 500m TT Final
17:22 – Individual Pursuit Final
18:46 – Elimination Race Final (Alice Sharpe)

BMX
18:00 – Men’s Park Final

Para-Cycling
19:45 ‐ 22:00 – MH3 and MH5 Road Race – Declan Slevin (MH3), Gary O’Reilly (MH5)

14th August, Sunday
Track
11:30 – Sprint qualifying (Orla Walsh)
13:21 – Sprint 1/16 finals
16:45 – Sprint 1/8 finals
17:17 – Sprint Race 1 Quarter-finals
17:43 – Sprint Race 2 Quarter-finals
18:05 – Sprint Decider Quarter-finals
18:11 – Points Race Final (Mia Griffin)

Road
09:15- 14:30 – Men’s Road Race (Sam Bennett, Ryan Mullen, Eddie Dunbar, Rory Townsend, Matthew Taggart)

Para-Cycling
14:30 ‐ 16:45 – MC4 Road Race (Ronan Grimes)
19:17 ‐ 21:45 – WB and MB Road Race (Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal (WB), Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly (WB), Damien Vereker and Dillon Corkery (MB))

15th August Monday
Track
13:20 – Omnium Scratch Race 7.5km (Emily Kay)
14:45 – Sprint – Race 1 Semi-finals
14:53 – Omnium Tempo Race 7.5km
15:35 – Sprint decider semi-finals
16:05 – Omnium Elimination Race
16:25 – Sprint Race 1 Final
17:09 – Sprint Race 2 Final
17:09 – Omnium Points Race 25km
17:41 – Sprint Decider Final

16th August, Tuesday
Track
13:00 – Keirin First Round (Orla Walsh)
13:36 – Keirin Repechages
15:30 – Keirin Semi-finals
15:50 – Madison 30km Final (Alice Sharpe and Mia Griffin)
16:35 – Keirin Final

17th August, Wednesday
Road
13:00 -14:30 – Women’s Time Trial (Kelly Murphy, Joanna Patterson)
16:30 – 18:00 – Men’s Time Trial (Ben Healy, Ryan Mullen)

21st August, Sunday
Road
10:30 – 14:00 – Women’s Road Race (Alice Sharpe, Mia Griffin)

There will be Irish highlights coverage as part of RTÉ’s broadcasting of the games with more extensive schedules on Eurosport over the next ten days.