Kelly Murphy has ended her European Championships campaign with 15th in the elite TT in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, to added to her 6th place finishes on the track in the individual pursuit and team pursuit.
Murphy, the national TT champion, broke the Irish record in the individual pursuit in the 24km TT today she was 2:26 down on the winner - Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser - over the 24km TT course.
“It was a really cleverly designed course,” said Murphy after her top 15 ride. “We reccied it yesterday and it was quite hard to tell how it was going to go. There was a really massive stonking climb right at the very start which, I think, was very deliberately designed to blow the legs.
“It was quite crazy actually at the very start. There was a
big screen and you could watch the girls before you go off. There was a timing chip
right at the top (of the climb) and you could see how everyone attacked it. And
everyone was doing something completely different.
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“It was essentially a test of fitness as opposed to raw
power; who’s got the legs to go over and carry on.”
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Murphy added while it was very hot out on the course, the
conditions did not undermine her performance due to her track training for team
and individual pursuit.
“We’ve been focussing on the track really for Euros and in
the velodrome they like to heat the air to make it nice and fast. And trained out
in Mallorca for that so the heat is something I’m quite accustomed to really.
“So, to be honest, I don’t mind that. It makes it hot, it
makes it fast, gives you fitness. If you know how to strategise around the race
you’ll be fine.”
Murphy, who took 6th in the individual pursuit –
in a new Irish record time – and 6th in the team pursuit at these
championships said she was happy with her riding overall.
“Me and Jo (Joanna Patterson) predicted for ourselves the
race (today) was going to be between 33 and 34 minutes and the pair of us were
right smack bang in the middle. We performed at that upper limit as we expected
to.
“It’s always a hard day, Europe is a very hard Continent to
race against. The best girls in world are here and some girls are just so strong.
And nobody enters the time trial unless they think they’ve got what it takes,
so everyone things they’re a big dog. So to finish 15th, I feel like
we were holding our own.”
