Anne Dalton takes solo National League win ahead of first foreign outing of year

Charlotte McDonald leads one of the many escapes in Bohermeen today before Anne Dalton time trialled to victory (Photo: www.blackumbrellaphotography.com )

By Caroline Martinez

Anne Dalton (DID Electrical Racing Team) has taken a solo victory in the third round of the Joe Daly Women's National League in Bohermeen after an aggressive and wet day of racing. She crossed the line over a minute ahead, leaving the peloton to sprint for the rest of the placings. Sandra Telford (Orwell Wheelers) won that gallop for second in front of Amy Brice (DID Electrical Racing Team) and Fran Meehan (Team Aquablue).

Over 40 women took to the start and while the course is generally thought to be one for the sprinters, this year the finish line was moved off the lap giving the sprinters a testing final 300m that dragged uphill into a stiff breeze.

Today's race would also be a last chance to test the form for those selected to ride the Bedford Three Day stage race over the May Bank Holiday weekend, when both Leinster and DID will face the best teams in the UK.

As has been the case in all three National League races this far, the racing was very aggressive with lots of attacks from the start with Orwell Wheelers, DID Electrical, Team Aquablue and Garda CC out in numbers and in strength and keen to get riders up the road.

Every attack was brought back until the last 20km of the race when Lucy Soden (Orwell Wheelers) charged out of the bunch. Amy Brice (DID Electrical), Martina Cronin (Iverk Carrick) and Janine McNally (North Down) joined Soden in the break and began to open a sizeable gap to the bunch.

It was Fran Meehan (AquaBlue) who decided to bring them back and she did so all by herself, lining out the bunch and sending riders out the back. Just as the foursome was caught, Dalton counterattacked fiercely to ride the last 10km of the race solo. By the time she crossed the finish line, she had over a minute on the rest of the field.

It was then a race for second and Sandra Telford, with her best result so far, won the gallop ahead of Amy Brice, Fran Meehan, Caroline Ryan and Sandra Fitzgerald. Dalton, very pleased with her win and attributed her win to great teamwork:

“It was a great race. It was very active, even more so than some of the previous races. A lot of attacks went. A lot of different teams were attacking so it kept it going,” she told stickybottle."

“Any attack that went there was a DID in it. When one of us was up the road, the rest of the team was just sitting in. We were very disciplined about how we did it. An attack had been brought back, maybe 10km from the finish and I attacked right then, because I knew some of the stronger girls had been participating in that attack. I was away for a lot and I remember thinking if I keep trucking and stay away out of sight..."

"When I got back onto the main road I looked back and I couldn't see them coming up, I knew I had a good gap so I kept going. Today was a good TT practice for me ahead of the Bedford Three Day next weekend.”