Ireland have qualified three riders for the Olympic road race in London 2012 cycling's world governing body, the UCI, announced yesterday.

Daniel Martin, who finished second overall at the Tour of Poland and the Tour of Lombardy, won the Giro del Toscana and a stage of the Tour of Spain was Ireland's top performer in the year long rankings, ending a fantastic season ranked number nine in the world.

Nicolas Roche went on to win a stage of the inaugural Tour of Beijing in September, with compatriot Philip Deignan racking up more UCI points in second place.

These results and others throughout the year were enough to ensure Ireland ended the season with a world ranking of 13th nation.