Brammeier’s London appeal turned down

The Olympic Council of Ireland’s Appeal Tribunal has turned down the appeal by Irish professional road cyclist Matt Brammeier against the decision of Cycling Ireland not to select him for the Olympic Road Race.

Brammeier lodged the appeal after Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche, and two-time Olympian David McCann, were named to represent Ireland in the Road Race, which takes place on the first day of competition, July 28.

The OCI’s Appeal Tribunal met Brammeier’s legal representatives on Saturday in Howth and heard the lengthy appeal submission. The tribunal was chaired by Susan Ahern (executive member) along with William O’Brien (first vice-president) and Dermot Sherlock (honorary secretary general) plus legal counsel.

According to the official announcement of the result: “Nothing in the decision prevents recourse by Mr Brammeier to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”

Team selection criteria was based mainly on top 10 results achieved between January 1 and May 31 when there were very few high-profile races apart from the Tour of the Algarve in February and then the Tour of Switzerland.

Daniel Martin topped the table with 81 points. Brammeier had no top 10 results but the races he contested were of a higher standard and he lost the month of April through illness. When the selections were made, young Sam Bennett was leapfrogged by 39-year-old David McCann but was named the reserve.

The Olympic team will be managed by Martin O’Loughlin (Iverk Produce Carrick Wheelers) who was the team manager for the Athens Olympics in 2004 and is also the team manager for this year’s world championships.