A cold winter afternoon in Navan might not be everyone's cup of tea but for winner of the Masters 40 race in the Leinster championships it was the only place Anthony Doyle wanted to be (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Brian Canty
Anthony Doyle won a superb Leinster cyclocross title yesterday afternoon by blitzing the opposition in the Masters 40 race and said the feeling of winning was “sublime”.
The Strata3-VeloRevolution man danced away from the rest of the field on the course at Blackwater Park in Navan after giving it everything he had on the opening laps.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the way things panned out,” he said. “We arrived very early and it was dark which is a first for me at a race!
“I did the sighting lap in minus three degrees but I warmed up a bit before the start and decided to go absolutely flat stick for two laps and see what happened.”
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In a new frame of mind, Doyle went out hard and didn't let up and he came away with the gold in the Masters 40 championship race (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Doyle pulled a good gap on his closest challenger Aaron O'Donoghue and knew he had it all but sewn up when he couldn't see anyone else in sight on the longest straights.
“I felt good and pushed on and without going into the cause of a seismic mental shift of late; every moment of the race was one of pure acceptance and that the joy of racing again.
“Every heavy effort, every deep breath, every push, felt light, natural and sublime. I was battling nobody and most importantly not myself.”
He knew it was his when he had over a minute on the penultimate lap.
“Without getting too philosophical, letting the pure joy and freedom of the ride gave me an edge that I was told to expect but didn’t truly believe until I found my hands in the air, not because I won, but because I was having the time of my life.
“The form is flowing into me at the moment and I think I should be at 100 per cent for the nationals.”
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