Ciara Doogan on her way to junior road race gold, once again proved her class at the weekend (Photo: www.jimmymcelroy.com – follow Jimmy on Facebook and Twitter)
By Brian Canty
Ciara Doogan was crowned junior national champion in the road race and the time-trial at the weekend, a rare feat that illustrates her undoubted potential and continued rise in the sport.
The UCD-Fitzcycles.ie beat Emily Birchall (NRPT) in Saturday’s test against the clock and followed that title-winning effort with a fine win from a sprint yesterday.
It means that for the second year in succession she has won both the road race and the time-trial.
Yesterday, the young Donegal woman waited for the gallop and when she sensed the time was right she put the hammer down.
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Her kick left the others trailing in her wake; closest to her were runner-up Birchall and bronze medallist Shauna McFadden.
UCD-Fitzcycles.ie's Doogan had a weekend she won't forget for a long time; winning the national junior time-trial champs by 37 seconds on Saturday and the road race in a bunch sprint on Sunday. She said her next big target is the An Post Rás na mBan next month (Photo: www.jimmymcelroy.com – follow Jimmy on Facebook and Twitter)
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“I’m delighted to win; it was nice to do the double again this year,” said the winner.
“In the road race, there were a few attacks throughout the race but nothing stuck so it came down to a bunch sprint and I went with about 300 metres to go.”
Doogan, a second-year physiotherapy student in UCD, has proven her class this year and last; she can sprint, climb and time-trial while racing on the track is something she has also showed real talent at.
Illustrating that track prowess was her sixth place in the points race at the European Championships in June.
Her next event is a stage race in Belgium at the end of the month followed by Rás na mBan in early September.
“I'll take it stage by stage, though it would be nice to get a decent result. I really enjoyed it last year,” she said of the country's biggest stage race.
Doogan in her Irish TT champion's jersey on Saturday, but there was more to come the following day. Pictured with TT silver medal winner Emily Birchall (right) and Eimear Harrison who won bronze.
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