The expected announcement today of the three riders who will compete in the men’s Olympic road race for Ireland won’t now take place for several days after an appeal was lodged yesterday with Cycling Ireland.
“One rider has decided to appeal the selector’s decision. As a result, the team won’t be confirmed today, but will be delayed until next week,” Cycling Ireland’s CEO Geoff Liffey told VeloNation today.
A Cycling Ireland Selection Appeal Panel (CISAP) consisting of five people will now consider the issue. They are Richard Archibold from the Sport Institute of Northern Ireland, the law practitioner Aideen Collard, Swim Ireland high performance director Shane Keane, who formerly worked with the Irish Sports Council, Cycling Ireland board member Anto Moran and Anthony Walsh, who has a Masters in Sports Law.
They will determine whether or not there are grounds for an appeal. If they decide there is, they will meet between now and Monday, and communicate the decision to Cycling Ireland’s CEO by Tuesday. The nominations will subsequently be made to the Olympic Council of Ireland and announced publically.
Several riders had satisfied the initial criteria for consideration, including Dan Martin (Garmin Barracuda), Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale), Sam Bennett (An Post Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), David McCann (RTS Racing Team), Matt Brammeier (Omega Pharma Quick Step), Philip Deignan (UnitedHealthcare), and the domestic-based Irish rider Adam Armstrong (Eurocycles). The stipulation was that riders had to have scored UCI points last season in races other than the national championships.
After that, they were allocated selection points depending on top ten finishes in UCI-ranked one day races and stages of multi-day events, with more points being awarded for higher-ranking events. A total was calculated for each, then the three members of the Olympic selection panel – namely An Post Rás director Dermot Dignam, international commissaire Paul Watson and Dr. Giles Warrington of Dublin City University’s School of Health and Human Performance – considered each, and had the scope to award up to 100 extra points depending on their assessment of each riders’ ‘suitability to the London Olympics course and potential to be competitive.’
The sole grounds for appeal are that either due process and/or selection procedures weren’t followed or there was bias or undue influence. Appeals cost €250 to lodge.
A final announcement of the three names for the men’s road race and one for the time trial will come next week.