From Kilkenny to Hong Kong, via Australia - Mia Griffin in track action this weekend

Mia Griffin’s Olympic journey will take her to Hong Kong this weekend.

The Kilkenny cyclist has been named in the five-strong women’s team to represent Ireland in the Hong Kong round of the UCI Track Nations Cup.

The Glenmore native will be joined by Lara Gillespie, Alice Sharpe, Kelly Murphy and Erin Creighton as they bid to cement a place at the Paris Games this summer.

Following the Adelaide round last month, the team spent several weeks in a Down Under training camp in Brisbane as they gained crucial hours training together in preparation for Hong Kong. 

The Cup is an important event in Ireland’s bid for Olympic qualification in the Women’s Team Pursuit event. The team will aim for a strong showing in search of ranking points ahead of the end of qualifying next month. 

In preparation, Ireland claimed six medals in a successful participation in the Australian National Championships earlier this month to underline what was a successful training camp. 

The performance included an impressive time of 4:17.670 in the Team Pursuit – just under one second over the national record the same quartet set just over a year ago. 

Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Alice Sharpe and Kelly Murphy will form the Women’s Team Pursuit line-up on Friday while Erin Creighton will take to the line in the Women’s Elimination Race. 

On Saturday, Mia Griffin and Alice Sharpe will look to continue their steady progress as a Women’s Madison partnership while Lara Gillespie will hope to continue her fine form in the Women’s Omnium event on the final day on Sunday.

“We’re excited to get on the track in Hong Kong for the second round of the UCI Track Nations Cup,” said Dan Henchy, National Track Coach. “Since the first round in Adelaide, the team have been working hard in a Brisbane Training Camp in preparation for this week. It’s been brilliant to have the team together for a consistent block of training and we’re very grateful for the help of the Queensland cycling community for making the trip such a success.

“Our main aim for the competition is to secure enough points with the Team Pursuit to confirm our Games qualification, but we’re looking for strong performances in all events in line with our overall aim of fielding a genuinely competitive team at the Paris Olympics in the summer.”

The schedule for Team Ireland is:

FRIDAY

Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Alice Sharpe, Kelly Murphy - Women’s Team Pursuit Qualifying - 2am (Irish Time)

Erin Creighton - Women’s Elimination Race Qualifying – 6:31am 

Women’s Team Pursuit First Round* - 7:15am 

Erin Creighton – Women's Elimination Race Final* - 12:50pm 

SATURDAY 

Mia Griffin & Alice Sharpe – Women's Madison Qualifying – 4:55am 

Mia Griffin & Alice Sharpe – Women's Madison Final* - 11am 

SUNDAY

Lara Gillespie – Women's Omnium Qualifying – 1:47am 

Women's Omnium Scratch Race - 8am 

Women’s Omnium Tempo Race – 8:40am 

Women’s Omnium Elimination Race – 10:06am 

Women’s Omnium Points Race - 11:05am 

Full start lists, live timing and results are available here