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Twelve Irish athletes will head to Hunstville, Alabama for the 2026 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships this September.
Reigning World Champion tandem pairing Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly will once again look to defend their road race and time-trial World Championship titles. The pair have found incredible success in recent years taking the rainbow jersey at each time of asking.
Dunlevy has 12 World Championship titles to her name, including several with previous pilot Eve McCrystal prior to joining up with Kelly in 2024.
Dunlevy and Kelly also took their first European Championship together at the first time of asking earlier this summer in Italy.
Dunlevy and Kelly will be joined in the WB category by Sinead Greenan and Alice Sharpe. Sharpe, herself an Olympian on the track, began piloting Greenan earlier this year and the pair have already picked up World Cup and European Championship medals.
Another Paris 2024 pairing in Damien Vereker and Mitchell McLaughlin will also head to Alabama. The pair took a World Cup medal earlier this year and put in a strong performance at the European Champs recently.
They will be joined in the MB category by Ciaran O’Toole and Con Scully who made their major championship debut at the European Championships this year in Italy.Richael Timothy took her first European Championship title in Italy earlier this year.
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The Paralympian has three track World Championship medals to her name but now looks to add a road medal in Alabama in the C3 category. Heather Jameson took a bronze medal in both the road race and TT at her first European Championships and will make her World Championship debut this September.
Two hand cyclists will make the trip over the Atlantic. Allister MacSorley took a World Cup medal earlier this year in Belgium and narrowly missed out on a medal in both the road race and TT European Championships and will be joined in his World Champs debut by Steve McGowan.
McGowan comes into the event having made his World Cup and European Champs debut this season before being crowned TT national champion in June.Paracycling coach Jamie Blanchfield welcomed the naming of a team of this size:
“We’re pleased to announce a team that reflects the depth, experience and continued progress of the programme’s pathway, with a strong mix of experienced athletes and riders who have continued to develop over the last number of seasons.
“The World Championships are one of the key events of the year and provide an important opportunity to benchmark ourselves against the strongest international competition.
“We’ve seen encouraging performances across the World Cups and European Championships this season, and we’re looking forward to seeing the team build on that momentum, deliver strong performances and continue gaining valuable experience as we progress through this Paralympic cycle.”
