Mia Griffin (Roland) is the new elite women's national road race champion after triumphing in a sprint at the end of a "cagey" race where everyone in the front group in the final was "wrecked" and "in a bin bag".
The 26-year-old former camogie player went from novice to Paris Olympian in five years. Now back in the World Tour with Swiss pro team Roland, she has scored several World Tour podiums on the road, taken her first UCI-ranked international win this year and now her first Irish road race title.
But today's race into Yellow Furze, Co Meath, almost became 'the one that got away' for Kilkenny's Griffin after Lucy Bénézet Minns (Lotto Ladies) attacked with about 17km to go, rode it like she stole it and was only caught with just over 1km to go.
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Once the catch was made, up stepped Griffin with a power bazooka down the home straight to take a decisive victory, telling stickybottle that wearing the Irish champion's jersey in the international pro peloton was "a dream" of hers since she began her cycling career.
"When I was imagining the scenarios that could play out today, I wanted to come into 300 metres to go in second wheel," she explained. "And if I could do that... well, that was the dream, dream, dream, and then just sprint to the line, because it wasn't long from that last corner."
In between taking the congratulations and hugs from her family and well wishers, after what was clearly a popular victory, Griffin said when Bénézet Minns attacked, and then had the legs to get a gap of almost 20 seconds and hang on for the longest time, she was looking on anxious from the nine-rider chasing group.
"I don't know if there's another saying for 'shitting bricks' about Lucy," Griffin laughed. "She had a good gap and pulling her back was really hard. I think some of the girls who didn't want a sprint finish... they didn't want to hand it to the fast girls. So it was touch and go."
The combined elite and U23 field today completed four laps of the 25.3km circuit - with two climbs - before racing onto a final loop of a 9.4km lap. The climbs over the first couple of laps saw most of the action taking place out the back of the bunch, rather than off the front.
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And by the halfway point a group of 10 was together, riding through, with intermittent attacks. Those efforts came from the likes of Griffin, Marine Lenehan (Dan Morrissey Pissei), defending champion Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) as well as a stinging move from Linda Kelly (Spin the Bean).
But it wasn't until that last lap attack by Bénézet Minns that it seemed someone might disrupt the plans of the sprinters, of which there were many, in the front group.
The 10 women who emerged at the front were: Lucy Bénézet Minns (Lotto Ladies), Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal), Caoimhe O’Brien (Cynicsa), Aoife O’Brien (DAS Hutchinson), Mia Griffin (Roland), Linda Kelly (Spin the Bean), Emma Jeffers (Liv AlUla Jayco), Marine Lenehan (Dan Morrissey), Aine Doherty (Dan Morrissey) and Abi Conway (Westport Covey).
Once that late attack was absorbed, Griffin and the others were racing into the final kilometre for the high stakes sprint to decide the destiny of the Irish title.
"I think today I just felt the legs were on a good day, and that was the difference," Griffin said. "That feeling of having good legs... days you have really good legs are few and far between. Being honest, most days I've had medium legs. But today they were really good and it was nice to have that feeling on a day like this."
Griffin made no mistake in the sprint, winning it well from Caoimhe O’Brien (Cynicsa Cycling), Marine Lenehan (Dan Morrissey Pissei Cycling Team) and Emma Jeffers (Liv AlUla Jayco), who won the U23 title. And she said she was now relishing the opportunity of wearing the Irish champion's jersey in Europe.
"Wearing the jersey is a huge thing. To be able to wear it abroad is just the dream. And I wanted it the last few years. But I've missed a few national championships. And this course was a really nice course for me. So going into it I really wanted it so badly.
"It was hard on some of the climbs but other than that it was very cagey. It was a course that just wears down your legs and everyone was wrecked by the end of it. So that's why we didn't have so many attacks, other than at the end, because everyone was just in a bin bag."
