JB Murphy may have suffered a devastating crash, at the worst possible time, last year but the Kildare rider's performance at the European Track Championships today confirmed he has return to form on the boards.
The 23-year-old crash last July at Grand Prix de la ville de Pérenchies (1.2) in France just as he was preparing for both the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships, though fracturing five vertebrae put an instant end to those plans.
He returned to Europeans action yesterday in the elimination race - and event he took bronze in back in 2021 - and made a big move off the front in a bid to claim a lap. While he came up short, before being caught and ultimately not finishing the race, he made no mistake in the tempo race at the omnium today.
Advertisement
With 20 points on offer for a lap gain, and one point for the first rider over the line each lap from the fifth lap, Murphy clear off the front early and hoovered up so many points he ran out the winner of the event. He scored 20 points after gaining a lap and then won every sprint from lap 5 to lap 17, scoring 32 points in the race.
Related News
That was enough to take the victory from France's Benjamin Thomas - a pro with World Tour team Cofidis, five-time world champion and nine-time European champion on the track. Thomas scored 26 points with Swiss rider Valère Thiébaud 3rd on 24 points in the 23-rider race.
Murphy had opened his omnium - comprised of four separate races - with 16th in the scratch race, followed by his tempo race win, 20th in the elimination race and 18th in the points race. He finished 14th overall, with the title going to Thomas from Italy's Simone Consonni, another Cofidis rider, and William Perrett (Great Britain).
While Murphy's consistency in the omnium resulted in him finishing down the final result, his ability to go on the attack so successfully in the tempo race, and also make a big effort in the scratch race yesterday, confirmed he is very much back on track following his crash last year while riding for EvoPro Racing.
That is good news for the Irish track team as Murphy is a rare breed in Irish cycling as he has medals in his palmares at major championships at both junior and senior level.
Apart from winning bronze at the Europeans in Switzerland in 2021 in the scratch race he also won silver in the junior Europeans, in the elimination race, back in 2017 and followed that up a month later with a bronze medal in the points race at the Worlds.
