Fran Meehan takes the elite women's national cyclocross title in Lady Dixon Park, Belfast; blood from a knee injury clearly running down her right leg (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Gerard Cromwell
In Belfast
Francine Meehan took her fourth national cyclocross title in Belfast yesterday despite an early crash which would need ‘five or six stitches’ to her knee afterwards.
“There was a bit of a pile up at the start,” said Meehan as she hobbled around afterwards.
“I got caught behind it so I had a bit of ground to make up. Then I got brought down on ‘carnage corner’, as they were calling it, on the first lap and I was behind.
“I sliced my knee open there. There’s two lines down it from the chainring and I’d say I’ll need five or six stitches but I suppose the adrenaline was going and I just got up and rode on.”
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Meehan’s crash saw national road champion Mel Spath of Team Rytger take over at the head of affairs and open a decent lead.
“I was worried to be honest,” admitted Meehan.
“Mel had a right good lead on me. But then I said to myself ‘well it’s the same as last year, just keep chipping away’. So I rode smooth; used my gears a lot and just tried to make the most of all the grip that I could get and tried not to panic too much.”
A recent stint racing the cyclo-cross scene in Belgium has brought Meehan’s bike handling ability to a new level, she says, and has also improved her off bike skills.
“In the first races I did over there, I was up against the top 10 women in the world. It was a massive eye-opener. You think you can ride a bike until you go and ride against the best. They’re amazing.
“It was a brilliant learning curve. I knew I’d be good on the running sections after my time in Belgium and I just chipped away and chipped away. I came up to her on the steps and then, after that, I just had to mind myself and the bike to the line.
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“I was thrilled. I get to keep my skinsuit for another year now and hopefully for Belgium next winter I’ll have full points to get high on the grid after the win today.”
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Apart from the 2012 edition when she acted as pilot for Catherine Walsh in the Paralympics, Meehan has won the title every year since 2009. But the Aquablue rider might not have even made it to the start if it hadn’t been for local bike shop, McConvey Cycles.
“I broke a hanger and my derailleur last night when I did a recce of the course,” she said.
“It was six o’clock in the evening and only for them I wouldn’t have had a spare bike for today.”
Having finished fourth in last year’s national time trial championships, Meehan admits she’d like to improve on that position this time around but says she’s unsure of how much road racing she will do.
“One of my targets would be the national TT champs,” she says.
“I didn’t ride well last year and I was 4th. But the road is very different to cyclo-cross. I just love the muck and the rain and the jumps. I love cyclocross.
“The people that go to it are all really nice. They’re a bit mad. It’s great craic, great camaraderie. The lads down south do a savage job at the Fixx Supercoss league.
“That’s a brilliant series with Robin (Seymour) doing the courses. It would be great to see more women doing it... and men. I genuinely think that if everyone had to do a season of ‘cross their road skills would be so much better. And you can use your cross bike for your winter bike.”
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