Two National Records fall at thrilling Track National Championships
Cycling
fans enjoyed a thrilling weekend of racing at the Cycling Ireland Track
National Championships in Sundrive velodrome where 8 National Champions were crowned,
and 2 Irish Records fell.
Kelly
Murphy, a Pursuit specialist, battled less than ideal conditions of day 1 of the
championship to set a new outdoor Irish Record of 3:48.99 in the Women’s 3k
Pursuit during qualification. In the gold medal ride she went event better lowering
the record to 3:47.452.
Lara
Gillespie claimed silver in her first senior National Championships while Mia Griffin
had to go 8 seconds faster that her qualification time to get the better of Autum
Collins who finished just outside the medals in fourth.
Michael
O’Loughlin was very impressive in the men’s 4k Pursuit winning in a time of
4:47.914. O’Loughlin had taken time off the bike due to the Covid-19 pandemic
but clearly found his form at just the right time. A relative newcomer to the
track, Lindsay Watson quickly mastered the skills required to excel at track
cycling and won silver in a time of 4:52.116. The battle for bronze went down
to a photo finish as Cian Keogh pipped youngster Aaron Wade by the narrowest of
margins, Keogh recording 4:53.371 to Wade’s 4:54.531.
The
men’s and women’s sprint races were equally as enthralling with a combination
of power and wit required to make the medal rides.
East
Tyrone’s Harvey Barnes took the first round against Eoin Mullen in the men’s
final before Mullen struck back in round 2. But Barnes had too much and took
the final round to seal victory and pick up the Sprint National Title. In a
very close battle for bronze, Callum O’Toole edged out James Glasgow.
In
the Women’s Sprint Orla Walsh was the red-hot favourite having set multiple national
records during her training for this event. While the conditions on the day
were not favourable for setting fast times, there were to be no surprises and
she won gold. Deirbhle Ivory beat off some stiff competition to reach the final
and finish second while Lara Gillespie would outsprint Nikki Taggert by two rounds
to one to claim the bronze medal.
Day
2 of the championships saw medals decided in the women’s 500m TT, men’s Kilo TT
and men’s and women’s scratch races. Orla Walsh set the tone early as she powered
around the track to set a new Irish Record of 36.22 in the Women’s 500m TT, taking
over a second off the previous mark. With a world class time on the board Orla
Walsh was unbeatable today.
Deirbhle
Ivory finished in the silver medal position with an excellent time of 38.61 and
Nikki Taggert 3rd in 38.71.
Strong
man Eoin Mullen who hails from the Aran Islands got the win in the men’s Kilo
TT powering around the track in a time of 1:07.05. Harvey Barnes, who out
sprinted Mullen on day 1 had to settle for silver while Aaron Wade showed his
turn of pace with a bronze medal.
Fans
watching the live stream were treated to nail-biting finish in both the women’s
and men’s scratch race which topped off a fantastic weekend of track racing. Junior
World Bronze medallist Lara Gillespie added gold to her collection which
included a silver and bronze from Saturday. Mia Griffin pushed Lara very close
during the scratch race finishing a half wheel behind in 2nd place.
Kelly Murphy was 3rd followed by Autum Collins in 4th.
The
men’s race was packed with talent and the pace was full gas from the gun. Aaron
Wade buoyed by his performances throughout the weekend took the initiative and
went on an early breakaway along with Andre Grennell. The duo was brought back
with just 10-laps remaining before further attacks would split the group up
significantly.
Cian
Keogh attached off the front with 7 laps remaining and was joined by 2019 world
medallist, Mark Downey. Downey had to work hard in the sprint finish to get the
victory and claim the Scratch race National Title. Keogh rounded out a
successful weekend with a silver medal followed by Michael O’Loughlin in 3rd.
Watch Day 1 Live Stream Here
Watch Day 2 Live Stream Here
Full Results Here