With confirmation this week that Ireland will compete at Ironman Raceway for the 2025 Motocross of Nations in October, five riders have been shortlisted to pull on the green jersey.
We understand that the shortlist, in no particular order, is: Jason Meara, Lennox Dickinson, Stuart Edmonds, Glenn McCormick and Martin Barr.
One notable omission is 17-year-old Cole McCullough.
Earlier this year, McCullough suffered an injury that ruled him out of the final rounds of the EMX125 Championship. However, he has been back on the bike since mid-July, so there’s no question he would be fully fit and ready to race in October.
We’re not saying he should 100% be selected – that’s for team manager Richard McKeown to decide – but surely McCullough deserves to be in the conversation. He is, after all, an EMX125 race winner and podium finisher.
After uncertainty over whether Ireland would even make the trip to Ironman, it’s fantastic news that a line-up will be fielded. Credit must go to McKeown and Barr for making it happen. Fingers crossed the management team at least reaches out to the McCullough camp for a discussion.
Meara and Dickinson have both been sidelined for several months, but it’s understood McKeown called Meara once the commission gave the green light, asking about his fitness and informing him he was shortlisted. Seeing Meara back on track would be a big boost for Team Ireland.
When asked why McCullough had not been included, the answer given was: “we were told he was injured”.
“Everyone knows I picked up a wrist injury earlier in the year, at the start of May to be precise. I still competed with the injury and scored a second and a third place finish at European level. I then took time out to let it heal properly, and always had the MXoN event on my schedule,” Cole McCullough told GateDrop.com.
Time will tell if the Belgium-based McCullough will be considered, but given his results and credentials this season, it’s hard to argue that a fit McCullough shouldn’t be in the mix for Team Ireland selection.
