NRPT man Ben Walsh had a weekend to remember after first capturing TT gold in the junior men's national championships on Saturday and following it up yesterday with team prize gold after the road race. (Photo thanks to Tommy Heaney)
By Brian Canty
Ben Walsh was a surprise winner of the gold medal in the national junior time-trial championships in his home county at the weekend, the 16 year-old from Westport taking the title by a meagre two seconds from Xeno Young (Powerhouse Sport) and Luke Smith (NRPT).
Walsh has had something of a breakout year and despite his age and still being a first-year junior, he finished third overall at the Scott Junior Tour of Ireland and wore the white jersey as well.
His prowess against the clock was earmarked last month by being the first Irish rider in the prologue of the Junior Tour but Saturday’s win was an even better achievement, he reckons.
Advertisement
“My two main goals of the season were the Junior Tour of Ireland and the national time-trial championships so after being first Irish rider in the TT at the Junior Tour and winning the white jersey I gained a lot of confidence.
Related News
“I also knew there were three very strong guys coming back from the track (Xeno Young, Cathal Purcell and Luke Smith) so I couldn’t be complacent.
“It was one of my biggest goals of the season but it was still quite a shock when I found out I’d won,” he added.
And he admitted it was “extra special” winning in his home county given the extra support from family and friends he had on the day.
Aside from his own TT gold he also took another for being part of the best team in yesterday’s road race which teammate Jake Gray won.
“It was a great weekend for NRPT, winning both the junior men’s championships and Luke (Smith), Shauna (McFadden) and Emily (Birchall) winning medals.
“That's all down to the commitment of Philip (Finnegan) and Scott (Kinsella) and our main sponsors, especially Morgan fox from Planet X Ireland.”
Walsh will now turn his attention to getting selected for the Junior Tour of Wales and possibly another one-day race in France.
Topics
