Andy Maguire & Ellen McDermott win Leinster Road Champs gold

*Fintan Ryan on the front of the winning breakaway with eventual winner Andy Maguire and Ronan Killeen just behind at the Leinster Road Race Championships (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

Former elite women’s national criterium champion Ellen McDermott and reigning men’s criterium champion Andy Maguire have added another title to their palmares by winning the Leinster Road Race Championships.

McDermott (Team Boompods) took the title in the women’s race in Kilcullen, Co Kildare, yesterday to top an interesting and quality podium.

While McDermott is an experienced international
competitor with an elite title under her belt, the silver and bronze medal
winners are among the young rising stars of Irish cycling.

Former junior road race and former elite cyclocross
champion as well as junior Worlds and Europeans medal winner, Lara Gillespie
(UCD Cycling Club), claimed the silver medal.

And taking the bronze medal was Weston Homes Torelli Assure’s Caoimhe O’Brien, the rapidly emerging junior rider who won three titles at the recent National Junior Track Championships.

*Ellen McDermott leads Lara Gillespie and they went on to take elite women's gold and silver in Co Kildare yesterday (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

In the men’s race a breakaway group of eight formed just
after the halfway point of the first lap of 42km.

With a very strong selection in that group it knuckled
down to pull out a gap of almost two minutes quite quickly.

In there for Lucan CRC were no fewer than three riders; Toni
Stojanov, newly crowned A3 national champion Peter Kirwan and recent Masters 40
road race championships silver medalist Ronan Killeen. Spellman Dublin Port had
two riders in the move in the shape of Cian Keogh and Andy Maguire.

Elite track international Fintan Ryan (Kingspan-TrackProject.ie)
also made the cut as did Paul Forristal (Strata3-VeloRevolution) and Conor McKenna
(Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo).

While Maguire and Keogh were especially active in the attacks as they tried to get clear when the finish neared, and Bohermeen strongman Chris Reilly led the charge in the bunch in trying to bridge to the breakaway, the eight-man escape approached the finish intact.

*Andy Maguire on the move up the road tracked by Paul Forristal (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

*Fintan Ryan closes the gap to Maguire and Forristal as the strain is clear to see at the back of the breakaway (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

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Maguire, clearly in great form after his recent national
crit title win, took it up early in the sprint and held on to claim gold from
Ryan, with Keogh 3^rd for a Spellman Dublin Port 1-3.

Forristal was 4^th from Stojanov, Killeen,
McKenna and Kirwan though the Lucan riders all came away with titles; Stojanov
the A2, Kirwan the A3 and Killeen the M40.

Shane Coll (Drogheda Wheelers) is the new Leinster junior
champion; Eoghan Cooke (Ounavarra) taking silver and Sean Lenehan (Navan
Road Club) bronze.

Fearghal Reagan (Murphy Surveys-Kilcullen) won the M50 crown from Mark Kiernan (Murphy Surveys-Kilcullen) and Paul Kennedy (Bray Wheelers).