Lydia Boylan has emerged an impressive winner of the women's road race at the National Road Championships; forcing the key split and taking the title in style.
Lydia Boylan has emerged from a very tough battle in Omagh to be crowned national road race champion; taking the title in a sprint from a select group.
The WNT rider was first to the line ahead of Lydia Gurley of Bonita. The destination of the bronze medal came down to a photo finish when three big names of Irish cycling; Olivia Dillon (VisitDallas), new national time trial champion Siobhan Horgan (Aquablue) and runner up in Thursday’s test Eve McCrystal of Garda CC.
After consulting the photo-finish camera, former multi road a TT champion Dillon was adjudge to have gotten the verdict to add bronze to the silver she took behind deposed champion Fiona Meade in Multyfarnham, Westmeath, last year.
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The racing was nonstop, with anyone who was going to win today being made to work hard; with a savage contest playing out that really adds to the quality of Boylan’s victory.
At first 12 women would force their way into contention and as the war of attrition continued on the circuit in the Omagh region, 12 would become six as only the strongest survived.
Ciara Kinch (Towers CC) was very aggressive in the early stages and when she made a solo move she got a gap of some 30 seconds to create the first breakaway of the day to establish itself.
She hung out there alone for a while before national Cyclocross champion Fran Meehan of Aquablue showed her hand in blasting across to Kinch alone to make it two out front being chased by a 50-strong peloton.
And it was Meehan and Kinch joining forces that saw the fight for the title get underway in earnest when a chasing group featuring most of the big names of the women’s scene formed in pursuit of the leading pair.
In that move were: Eve McCrystal (Garda Richies), Fiona Meade (Fearless Femmes), Siobhan Horgan (Aquablue), Olivia Dillon (Visit Dallas), Lydia Boylan (WNT), Lauren Creamer (Pearl Izumi) and Lydia Gurley (Bonita).
The made the juncture with the leaders up front very quickly and had a gap of over 50 seconds in on time.
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One notable absentee from the front group was road race title winner in 2012 and 2013 Mel Spath, who is riding Unattached at present.
She has been on the long road back from injury and though she had only ridden one road race before today’s outing her 4th place in Thursday’s TT showed she is getting back into shape.
Spath set off on pursuit of the leaders on her own as the gap had reached 55 seconds. And while she began making inroads immediately, the gap between breakaway and bunch was now just north of one minute, with Spath stick in between.
Up front Boylan clearly had great legs, opting to disrupt the breakaway with a lone attach and building a 25 second lead for her efforts. And while she was off the front, just behind the group she had attacked Spath was putting in a strong and determined ride, catching the 11 riders.
And while the group would then reabsorb Boylan, her move had the desired effect in that the front group now number just six; Meade, McCrystal, Horgan, Boylan, Dillon and Gurley.
And they had a not insurmountable 36 seconds heading out onto the final lap.
Of that leading six, it was then Horgan who turned the screw, taking off from the group and being closely marked by Boylan and McCrystal.
But after a regrouping the leading group stormed into the finish and it was Boylan who stormed ahead to clear and apparently comfortable win from Gurley was well clear of the clutch of women sprinting for bronze.
Dillon rounded out the podium from McCrystal and Horgan, with Meade back in 6th place; her feared kick having perhaps been taken out of her legs by a very tough race.
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