Orwell Wheelers' Stephen McNally has described his gold medal ride in the European Masters Track Championships as his "best moment in cycling."
The Dunboyne resident took victory in the final of the 3km Pursuit in the 45-49 year old category at the Fassa Bortolo Velodrome in Montichiari, Italy, beating Britain's Trevor Burke in the final by just over 2.3 seconds in a time of 3m35.641s.
McNally had qualified fastest in a time of 3m33.801 seconds, fractionally under three seconds faster than Burke.
Heading to Italy for his first international competition, indeed his first ever competition on an indoor track, McNally had expected that he would need to better his best Sundrive Rd. 3km time of 3m45.69s by at least ten seconds to challenge for a medal. Lowering his personal best by almost 12 seconds was, therefore, a matter of some personal pride.
"This is my best moment in cycling," he said afterwards. "I went out a bit fast in the qualifying run, and eased back slightly in the 2nd km. Luckily I still had something in the tank to finish strongly.
"We only had a couple of hours before the final and it was oppressively hot in the velodrome but I guess it was the same for Trevor too, so I just tried to recover as well as I could, drink plenty of water and keep my feet up.
"The plan for the final was to track Trevor all the way and wind it up with 3-4 laps to go. I guess he had a similar plan and he pulled the trigger with four laps to go. I waited another lap before beginning my finishing effort and I managed to pull out a decent gap by the finish.
"The final was the hardest pursuit ride I've ever done, it was so hard to even match Trevor for the first 2km, the legs still felt the effort of the qualifying run, given the short interval. This was my first indoor competition so hopefully there's scope for improvement, particularly on my lines.
"I've had great encouragement from many people but I'd like to say a special thank you to Aidan Ryan and Mark Kiely who helped with my training, and to Aideen Collard who kept me updated every lap during both rides and especially my family who have been very supportive throughout my training."
McNally hasn't had much opportunity to celebrate his success as he is due to compete in the 750m Time Trial on Wednesday and the 10km Scratch Race on Thursday.
Also in action in Montichiari is Orwell Wheelers clubmate Aideen Collard who set a personal best on her way to fourth place in the 35-49 year old 500m Time Trial. Collard's 42.520s time was an agonising .085 seconds shy of a medal winning time ride but bodes well for her remaining events in the championships.
-ends-
For more information contact Declan Quigley +353 87 6848586