The Cycling Ulster Youth Academy will be running an initial selection event on 3rd February, in conjunction with Omagh Wheelers, to help with the selection process for the Youth Tour of Scotland.. This event will also be used to select riders to attend the National Youth Commissions Training Camp on 17th/18th February in Castlebar. Following the event in Omagh, 10 U16 boys and up to 10 girls (subject to numbers) will be selected to attend a follow up training session based at the PJ Logan Circuit (Island Wheelers) on the 10th February. This will then determine the final teams for Youth Tour of Scotland. Final selections will be made by week commencing 19th Feb 2018, and riders informed of selection decision thereafter. Final rider confirmation must be provided to the race organisers by 26th February.
After Omagh, we will also pick 10 U14 boys to attend Castlebar as well as the riders selected for the Island Wheelers event. We feel that selection is not appropriate for U12’s at this stage of the season, however, if any wish to attend Castlebar, they need to attend the Omagh session and speak to us so we can put names forward. Again this will be limited to 10 max.
The CUYA reserve the right to enter a wildcard rider in exceptional circumstances.
Selection Panel
Members of the CUYA will be assisted by other riders at the events and all feedback will be collated by the Youth Team Co-Ordinator, Shaun McBride.
Members of the CUYA with children who are potentially eligible will not be able to provide input into the age category of their child but can still observe any other age categories.
Selection Criteria
As this comes at the very start of the season, we will be ranking riders based upon performances at both Errigal and the Irish Nationals at the end of last year. These were the last two multi-stage events and will allow us to assess how a rider performs across multiple stages and how they recover between each stage. The events in both Omagh and Island Wheelers, will then allow CUYA to assess current form/fitness after the winter break.
Selections will be supported by aptitudes and attitudes displayed at coaching / selection sessions.
Selections will also take into account:
• Bike handling ability / cornering skills, etc…
• Tactical awareness
• Finish position
• Self-sufficiency / behaviour / discipline
• Commitment to team efforts
• Application, aptitude and attitude displayed at regional training sessions
Ranking of U15 riders will carry a +1 point weighting to reflect the fact that results in their races last year were over a shorter distance. Priority shall not be given to older riders.
The decisions of the selection panel shall be final. Where a rider has questions or requires more information on their selection process, they should contact the CUYA Road Commission Representative.
Expectations
The selected team including any reserves will be expected to make every effort to attend training sessions to be organised in the lead up to the event.
