2023 Time Trial National Championships Preview And Start List
2022 Time Trial National Ben Healy (Image: Inpho Photography)
The 2023 Road National Championships take place in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, and begin with the time trial on Thursday, June 22nd.
The time trial event will feature senior men and women, U23 men and junior men and women’s categories. The event will also form the para-cycling time trial national championships with tandem, C1-5 and H1-5 para-cycling categories using factored times.
Ben Healy and Kelly Murphy were crowned senior men and women’s time trial national champion in 2022 and will defend their title this time around.
A similar course awaits this year as host club Island Wheelers have put together a route that includes some tough uphill drags as well as a technical section.
At 31.2km and featuring 337m in elevation, it starts on a predominantly downhill flowing B-Road before joining the A4 Dual Carriageway heading for Dungannon.
The initial section of the A4 is a tough uphill drag, but from there on the road is very fast and rolling. Riders will then take a left at Killyliss Road for a technical 5km section before finishing with a tough 1km drag to the finish line.
The course profile can be found here.
With several riders enjoying impressive seasons at home and abroad, the battle to be crowned time trial national champion will be fierce.
Here’s six to watch in the senior men and women’s time trial national championships:
Riders To Watch
Ben Healy (Senior Men)
The 2022 national champion, Healy has burst onto the world cycling spotlight with a stage win at the Giro d’Italia and standout performances in the spring classics including Liege-Bastogne-Liege. A powerful rider who can produce huge power in a time trial, the EF-Education Easypost rider will be tough to beat if in form.
Kelly Murphy (Senior Women)
Three-time national champion in this event, Kelly Murphy will be hard to beat in the women’s category. The 2022 champion and Irish national team track rider, Murphy has been busy breaking national records on the track this season and will take some stopping this week.
Ryan Mullen (Senior Men)
The Bora-Hansgrohe rider was crowned time trial national champion in 2021 and is expected to arrive in Dungannon in prime condition. A strong lead-out man for Sam Bennett in the pro peloton, Mullen has all the credentials to make him a rider to watch this week.
Joanna Patterson (Senior Women)
A specialist in the time trial, Joanna Patterson picked up second in last year’s event and was national champion in 2021. Having previously competed for Ireland in athletics, Patterson knows what it takes to win and could be back in the mix this year.
Darren Rafferty (U23 Men)
Fresh from his second place finish in the general classification of the Giro d'Italia, the 19-year old is hot favourite in the uU3 category. He will be hoping to retain the U23 title.
Seth Dunwoody (Junior Men)
One of the most exciting emerging prospects in Irish cycling, Seth Dunwoody picked up a brilliant fifth place finish at the 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival in the boys time trial. He faces tough competition in a start list featuring a host of strong riders such as Patrick Casey, Liam O'Brien and Adam Rafferty.
Shauna Finn (Junior Women)
The reigning junior women's time trial national champion, Shauna Finn has performed well amongst senior riders in the Road National Series in 2023. Also featuring on a competitive start list in the junior women's time trial are Aine Doherty and Lucy Benezet Minns.
Ronan Grimes (C1-5)
The European time trial champion in the C4 category, Grimes will be a benchmark for all of those competing in the solo C1-5 category. But with Irish National Team riders Richael Timothy and Chris Burns as well as domestic prospects Cormac O'Callaghan and Ivan Naluswa and 2022 national champion William Clifford all set to start, Grimes will have to be in top form to take victory.
Declan Slevin (H1-5)
Irish National Team rider Declan Slevin is the reigning national champion in the solo H1-5 category, but faces stiff competition from Allister MacSorley and Ray Murnane in what promises to be a competitive category.
Damien Vereker & Marcin Mizgajski (Tandem)
The Irish Paracycling National Team duo are among the favourites in the tandem category, their partnership in international competitions representing Ireland could give them the edge in the time trial.
Full Start List
More information on the 2023 Road National Championships can be found here