Paul McQuaid is an Irish cyclist who has represented Ireland in several global competitions, as well as winning Ireland's two best known road cycling races.

The McQuaid family and cycling

McQuaid comes from a

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...

family, his father Jim and uncle Paddy being senior Irish amateur cyclists. His brothers Kieron and Oliver as well as his cousin John McQuaid represented Ireland in the world road championship and the Olympic road race, and Pat McQuaid is also a former president of the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

Cycling career

McQuaid represented Ireland in the 1989 world championships in Chambery, France. In 1991 he represented Ireland in the Hapoel Games in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. 1992 saw him represent Ireland in the Franco-Belge,

Tour de Normandie Tour de Normandie is a road bicycle race held annually in the region of Normandy, France. The race started in 1939, but was not held in the periods of 1940–1955 and 1960–1980. It was originally a race for amateurs, but was opened for professi ...

, Tour of Europe and Giro delle Regioni in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. An injury knocked him out for 1993 but he came back in 1994 with rides in the Gran Premio Liberazione and Giro delle Regioni in Italy and fourth in Ireland's National Tour, the

Rás Tailteann Rás Tailteann (; "Tailteann Race"), often shortened to the Rás, is an annual international cycling stage race, held in Ireland. Traditionally held in May, the race returned after a hiatus in 2022 as 5 day event held in June. By naming the rac ...

. He then made the national team for the world championship in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

in 1995. In 1995 he won the FBD Rás Tailteann. He also won race the

Shay Elliott Memorial Race The Shay Elliott Memorial race is a one-day road cycling race held in spring in Ireland. It is run in honour of Ireland's first professional cyclist, Seamus Shay Elliott. The race was previously known as the ''Route de Chill Mhantain'' ("Wickl ...

in 1988.

Today

McQuaid was proprietor of Phoenix Park Bike Hire for eight years, and now runs River Cycles, also a bike rental shop, at Usher's Island within Dublin's South Quays. McQuaid has also run Celtic Trails cycling tours in the west of Ireland starting in 1997.

References

External links

* http://www.celtictrails.com Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Irish male cyclists Rás Tailteann winners {{Ireland-cycling-bio-stub