Aliyah Rafferty may have already claimed an elite Irish title - at the National Cyclocross Championships back in January - but making the transition from a star performer on the home scene to the roads of Europe is never an easy one.
However, riding for her Tofauti Everyone Active trade team, the 16-year-old from Co Tyrone has put up an impressive performance in one of the biggest road race assignments to date of her fledgling career.
And, speaking to stickybottle after her ride in the 94.5km Grand Prix Ceratizit Plouay Women Junior (1.1), it was clear Rafferty's performance was far ahead of her final result, though that too was strong.
Rafferty's brother Darren, now riding the Vuelta for EF Education-EasyPost, won the junior men's version of this race three years ago. But yesterday she wrote another part of her only story and not only made the final 35-strong front group, but was active through the race.
Advertisement
Though the fight for victory came down to a reduced bunch sprint - won by stand-out Belgian Auke De Buysser (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step U19 Team) - the race was far from a bunch sprint contest.
Related News
Constant attacks went, and were brought back, on hilly terrain, with Rafferty playing her part in the action. She eventually finished in 29th, though that result did not really reflect her performance.
"I rode a really aggressive race and tried a lot to get away but no attacks from anyone would stick, because both climbs on the circuit were followed by a fast descent," she told stickybottle.
"The narrow roads and tight corners on the circuit meant the pace was high because there was a constant fight for positioning. I managed to stay at, or near, the front throughout the race. So I was able to follow anything that went.
"The race was attritional and the field just continued to gradually get smaller each lap. We started with a field of around 130 girls and after the 15 laps, just over 30 finished in the front group."
Though her result didn't reflect the quality of her performance, making the front group in such a prestigious race - on hilly terrain and with a large international field - was a very good innings.
