Mel Spath (leading) in last year's National Road Race Championships, which she won in a sprint from a reduced bunch. She faces a tough test in trying to retain her title tomorrow in Westmeath (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
By Brian Canty
Mel Spath is aiming for her third consecutive women’s national road race title in Mullingar tomorrow, but despite a smaller field to last year she can expect her toughest challenge yet.
There are 40 riders down to start the 2pm showdown which takes in six laps of the 19 kilometre course for a testing 114 kilometre race.
Spath has been based in the UK for much of the season, having switched from Danish outfit Team Rygter to the Wyndy Milla Bespoke Team.
And though results have been scarce because of a troublesome knee injury, she’s still one of the classiest riders in the bunch.
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She can sprint and she can climb and if recent history is anything to go by, the race will be won in a sprint from a reduced group.
That opens up the number of possible winners and one name that has cropped up is that of Cork woman Fiona Meade.
The Blarney CC rider was fifth in the sprint that settled it last year and has been name checked this week by Spath and another favourite Lydia Boylan.
Boylan, like Meade, has never won the national road race title. But she is going to be right in the mix if her crit form from the Tour Series in the UK where she’s based holds up.
Olivia Dillon's time trail challenge ended before it began last night, but she has the goods to win the road title again if a bit of luck falls her way. Seen here competing in her US base for top women's team Colavita.
Boylan has a very strong track pedigree, as five national titles will attest to, and would dearly love to add the road title to that tally.
She has been fourth the last two years. And having recently been selected for Northern Ireland for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, she should have the confidence and form to contend for victory.
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Speaking of track pedigree, Caroline Ryan is another possible winner. And having blitzed the field in the time-trial last night, she’s impossible to ignore.
Her winning margin over Lauren Creamer (Pearl Izumi Sport) was almost 20 seconds, with bronze-medallist Fran Meehan (Aquablue) over two minutes back.
Ryan is going to be heavily marked, but in all likelihood she will escape in a break if one gets clear.
From there, she knows she has a bigger engine than most so it becomes a question of timing; does she jump early or late?
The last thing she’ll want is to take a chance and bring the likes of Meade or Spath to the line for a sprint. But she runs the risk of fading if she goes too early, especially on exposed roads.
Olivia Dillon is in a similar boat and the three-time Rás na mBan winner will be looking for her second title to go alongside the gold medal she won in Sligo in 2010.
The harder the race the better it is for Dillon. And though she’d have loved a few steeper drags, she’ll still be well able to reduce the peloton in size when she puts the power down.
But like the other big names in the field, she will be closely marked.
Her trip home from the US, where she is based with the Colavita team has not been pleasant thus far; being forced out of last night's time trail before it had begun because her bike did not get through the pre-race checks enforcing UCI TT position rules.
Dark horses, aside from Fiona Meade, are Mary Costelloe (WyndyMilla-Reynolds) who was third last year, while the aforementioned Fran Meehan will be going hell for leather on home roads.
Eve McCrystal, a Garda CC teammate of Caroline Ryan, Creamer and Louise Moriarty (Look Mum No Hands) are others worth noting.
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