World scratch race champion Martyn Irvine has said that his big crash on Tuesday in the Ghent Six track race has left him stiff and bruised, but shouldn’t be a major disruption to his planned schedule.

The Ards rider hit the deck during the opening night of the famous track race, clipping a wheel and spilling to the ground. He slid down the banking and came to a painful halt, lying on the ground for several minutes before being stretchered off.

It was initially feared he might have fractured his femur, an injury he suffered in March of this year, but medical examinations fortunately showed that the damage was less serious than that. He suffered severe bruising and is very sore, but is otherwise fine.

While he had planned to race the full Ghent Six, running from Tuesday until Sunday, he believes that things should continue as normal beyond that point.

Irvine told The Irish Times yesterday that he hopes to be in shape for round two of the Revolution series, which will be held in Glasgow in eight days' time.

Irvine said that he wouldn’t ride the World Cup round in Aguascalientes, Mexico, which runs between December 5th and 7th. “My plan was to skip the next round, even before my crash,” he said.

Instead, he will arrive in Arizona on December 7th, where he will spend 11 days training with his UnitedHealthcare team.

While track is his immediate focus, he wants to have a strong road season after the World Track Championships in February. The team is hoping that his links to Ards and, more recently, to north Co Dublin, will help it get a wildcard entry to the Giro d’Italia. The first three days of that race will take place in Ireland, beginning on May 9th.

Meanwhile, there is still no indication of which team Irish road race champion Matt Brammeier will be riding for next season.

He has an offer from a Continental squad, but has been holding out for a bigger team. However, time is running out and a decision is expected soon.