Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) has continued his rampant run through the 2023 season by winning the men's road race at the National Road Championships in some style in Co Tyrone today. While he had to contend the big name Bora-hansgrohe duo of Sam Bennett and Ryan Mullen - among others - in the six-man group that dominated the race, Healy took the fight to them early and often and won by over four minutes.
His aggression initially pulled clear a group of 15 riders before further attacks from Healy saw six men break clear of that larger group; Healy, Bennett, Mullen, defending champion Rory Townsend (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), Dillon Corkery (CC Etupes) and Leo Doyle (ARBO-Headstart ON Fahrrad).
Healy made a menace of himself in that six-man breakaway, attacking it again to go clear solo with about 100km remaining. And though Mullen did a lot of work to control the gap, in the hope Bennett could win the race, the chase group disintegrated in the wake of Healy's pace. Over the closing laps he then relentlessly pushed on towards the gold medal.
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Townsend proved strongest of the chasers; attacking the five-man group on the third last lap, of 22km. And while Bennett was the last man standing with Townsend, even he blew, leaving Townsend alone to try and catch Healy, which he was simply unable to do.
Indeed, on the last lap, Healy's dominance was clearest. Having begun that lap with a lead of just over one minute on Townsend, the winning margin over last year's champion was 4:12 on the line. A further 1:37 down - and 5:49 down on winner Healy - came Sam Bennett. He took the bronze medal, finishing just one second up on Mullen and Corkery, who were 4th and 5th respectively.
Mark Dowling (All human-VeloRevolution) also showed real class, proving best of the riders who missed the original breakaway. He finished in 6th place, leading in a four-rider group some 7:06 down on the winner. Dowling's All-Human-VeloRevolution Racing Team also won the team prize - with Mitchell McLaughlin and Daire Feeley - another notch on the belt for sponsor and DS Aidan Crowley.
Jamie Meehan (Brocar Ale) was 2nd in the sprint from the Dowling group, taking 7th in the race and winning the U23 gold after just edging out Darren Rafferty (Hagens Berman Axeon), who was 8th and took U23 silver. Jesse Ewart (Terengganu Polygon Cycling Team) was also in that group led in by Dowling, placing 9th. Leo Doyle (ARBO-Headstart ON Fahrrad), who rode out of his skin today out front, was 10th at 8:05.
Odhran Doogan (Caldwell Cycles) won the U23 bronze medal when he led in a group at 11:18, finishing 19th. There was a real battle for that final medal as Patrick O'Loughlin (Panduit Carrick Wheelers) and Ciaran Maguire (Team Dan Morrissey-Primor by Pissei) were in that sprint for 19th place - and U23 bronze - finishing 20th and 21st.
How the race unfolded
The combined U23-elite men's race was 164.3km, consisting of the opening loop of 35.4km before six laps of the 22km race circuit. The Killylass climb played a role in splitting the U23-elite women's race and both the junior title races and was also instrumental - immediately - in breaking up the men's event.
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After the opening attacks, with small groups going clear and being caught, the first passage of the climb saw a group of 15 strong riders pulling clear.
In that group were: Rory Townsend (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), Ryan Mullen (Bora-hansgrohe), Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Daire Feeley (All human-VeloRevolution), Conn McDunphy (Lucan CRC), Luke Smith (Moynalty CC), Leo Doyle (ARBO-Headstart ON Fahrrad), Cormac McGeogh (Canel’s Zerouno Mavic), Dillon Corkery (CC Etupes), Peter McLean (Velo Cafe Magasin), Kevin McCambridge (Trinity Racing), Ewan Warren (Borcar Ale), Aaron Wade (Cortizo Aluminium Team) and Odhran Doogan (Team Caldwell Cycles).
After the climb, and as the leaders crossing the finish line, the main bunch was about 35 seconds back. However, there was no time for the front group to settle into a long day out front as Healy attacked, splitting the large breakaway. Healy pulled five others clear with him; Bennett, Mullen, Townsend, Corkery and Doyle.
Some 30 seconds behind them, a six-man group was chasing - McDunphy, Feeley, Smith, Warren, McCambridge and McLean - with the bunch about one minute back. Those chasers were soon caught by the bunch, leaving just the six-man breakaway up front.
On the second lap, of six, of the main race circuit the leaders had 1:30 on the bunch, when Healy lit it up on the Killylass climb and went clear solo.
That left the Bora-hansgrohe duo of Mullen and Bennett with the lion's share of the responsibility to lead the chase in the five-man group behind Healy. As the Giro stage winner pulled out his gap to about 30 seconds, on the fourth last lap of the circuit, Darren Rafferty (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Ewan Warren (Brocar Ale) were attacking off the front of the bunch, though it was now two minutes back.
However, while Healy continued to plough on solo, Mullen was doing most of the work in the chasing group - so Bennett could save himself. And that work by Mullen was keeping Healy at bay; ensuring his gap was remaining between 30 and 40 seconds. At one point, that gap dipped just before 20 seconds before going back out close to 40 seconds, as Healy was making his gains on the harder parts of the circuit.
With three laps to go, Healy had 45 seconds over Rory Townsend Sam Bennett, Ryan Mullen, Leo Doyle and Dillon Corkery. The bunch was 3:50 back, though a chasing group had gone off the front of that peloton.
As the leaders hit the Killylass climb for the third last passage was still leading, but his advantage over the chasing five was just under 30 seconds. And then - on the second last lap - the big show began in that chasing group, with Townsend attacking on that penultimate lap.
Mullen and Bennett initially moved with Townsend as Mullen, Corkery and Doyle formed a small chasing group behind. However, Mullen soon lost his place up front, leaving Bennett alone with Townsend. And that Bennett-Townsend combination began making huge inroads into Healy's lead, getting the gap down to under 15 seconds. While it look like Healy was in real danger of being caught, Bennett began to look shaky and just before the Killylass climb on the penultimate lap, he blew his lights and was distanced by Townsend.
At that point, Townsend was 23 seconds down on Healy. Mullen was back the road solo, about 1:20 off Healy, with Corkery and Doyle a little further back.
And front that point, the battle for gold was between the men who had won the title for the last two years; Townsend the defending champion and Healy the 2021 champion.
The question of who would win that drag race began to emerge very soon after Townsend dropped Bennett. On the Killylass climb, Healy got the gap over Townsend back up to almost 40 seconds. And as Healy began the final lap, with just over 20km to go, that was up close to 50 seconds.
From that point, it was all one-way traffic, Healy simply too strong for Townsend and pulling out the gap to well over one minute as he drove relentless towards gold.
More to come.
