Dan Henchy appointed to new Cycling Ireland coaching role
In a significant development for high performance cycling in Ireland, Cycling Ireland is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Henchy as National Track Cycling Coach. The appointment further strengthens the resourcing and capacity of the High-Performance Unit ahead of the 2022 European and World Championships and Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
Iain Dyer took up the role of High-Performance Director in February of this year and other recent appointments include former World Champion, Martyn Irvine as U23 Programme Lead and four-time Olympian, Nicholas Roche as Director Sportif for the senior road squad. Further recruitment is planned within the High-Performance Unit in addition to the Head Coach role where an appointment will be announced shortly.
Henchy will begin in the full-time track coaching role from 8th of July and brings with him a wealth of experience and a track record of success. Seven years with British Cycling, Henchy coached riders to 13 Paralympic Medals as part of a team that topped the cycling medal table at both the Rio and Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Newly appointed Track Coach, Dan Henchy, commented:
"I'm thrilled to be joining Cycling Ireland as National Track Coach and can't wait to get started. It's an exciting time to be joining the team with only two years until the Paris Olympic Games. There have been some great results on the track already this year and I'm keen to hit the ground running and continue that progress. I also want to support the development of talented young Irish track riders and help them on their journey to being successful at the top level in years to come."
High-Performance Director, Iain Dyer added:
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Dan to the team. He built up a fantastic track record at British Cycling and is well placed to support and further develop our track squad. He joins us at a really busy time with some major Championships taking place immediately, but I am confident he will settle in quickly.”
“When I started, I recognised it was important to strengthen the High-Performance Unit if we were to turn ourselves around quickly enough after Tokyo to mount a serious challenge and be competitive in Paris. The recent appointment of a high-performance admin manager was just the beginning. I was also pleased to welcome Martyn Irvine back into the coaching team and he is playing a pivotal role in developing our U23 riders.”
A further positive development is the establishment of a new High Performance Management Group. The HPMG will provide support to the High-Performance Director on matters relevant to the development of the high-performance programme. An expression of interest process is underway with applications sought from independent persons from a range of high-performance backgrounds within cycling and other sports.