Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles) already had a UCI Nations Cup TT win under his belt this season before lining out at last night's National TT Championships. But having sat the Leaving Cert since that victory in Czech Republic in early May, he was unsure if his engine would fire on all cylinders in his bid to take back-to-back junior titles.
In the end, he came away with another gold medal in a time so fast it would have secured him bronze in the elite men's race and silver in the U23 men's TT. That was an incredible outcome for the 18-year-old coming out of demanding exams.
"I felt pretty good, I just kept the head down, kept going and gave it all I had, so I can't complain," he told stickybottle after riding the 25.4km TT in 29:34, or an average speed of 51.545kmph.
Advertisement
He topped the junior podium by 1:16 from Matthew Walls (Lucan CRC), with bronze medal winner, David Gaffney (Team 31 Specialized) at 1:19. Across the junior, U23 and elite men's TTs, all run off on the same course over the same distance, only three men were quicker than Murphy.
Elite champion Ryan Mullen (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) was 12 seconds fast than the teenager, elite silver medalist George Peden (PB Performance) was six seconds quicker and U23 TT winner, Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco), was two seconds faster than junior title winner Murphy.
Related News
"It was pretty hard with the wet conditions," Murphy said of the TT, promoted by Lakeside Wheelers in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath. "I didn’t know what to expect coming into it, being just fresh off finishing the Leaving Cert. So there hasn’t been much prep for it. But I'm just happy to get the win with minimum prep.
"It was kinda hard to get going again after the tiredness during the exams. It was a case of 'see what happens' really, after only doing an hour a day, even missing training days from being tired doing exams or studying.
"So it was a guessing game today but I was able to produce some sort of performance. But it's good to get (the Leaving Cert) over now and I can look forward to getting out on the bike."
Murphy equaled Ryan Mullen's Irish elite record time for the 10 mile TT - 17:42 - at the Ernie Magwood Series on the Frosses course in Ballymena, Co Antrim, last month. That meant few of his rivals last night would have been guessing about his ability to win.
He will take on Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (2.1) - perhaps the premier stage race for juniors in France - from July 10th. After that, he says he is hopeful of gaining selection for the Europeans in October in France, where he would be an exciting prospect for Ireland.
