Suzanne White may have only taken her first steps into road racing last year, but the Sorrento CC rider is clearly a fast learner - with a big engine - as she has been crowned Irish women's Masters road race champion in Co Limerick today.
The Sorrento Cycling Club rider - a native of Meath but now living in Wicklow - proved best in the sprint to the line in Knockaderry today after attacks off the front of the masters bunch failed to cause a decisive split.
Catriona Lenihan took the silver medal for host club Newcastle West Cycling Club while Yvonne Doran of Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club claimed the bronze. The title race was the first road race championships for Masters women, with a separate Masters 50 category also within the event.
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That Masters 50 gold medal was claimed by Julie Rea (Phoenix CC) from one of the real flagbearers of women's cycling in Ireland, Rás na mBan race director Valerie Considine of Usher Irish Road Club. Sharon Cahill of The Chaingang Cycling Club completed the podium, taking the bronze medal.
White told stickybottle she was "absolutely delighted" to win a national title, saying she could hardly believe everything went right for her on the day. She prevailed after five laps of racing over a 12km circuit with two inclines, including a drag up to the finish line.
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"There were a good few attacks but they were being brought back and I even tried myself on the second lap," said White. "But in the end it stayed together for a bunch sprint."
She added she had great support on the day, including her parents and partner traveling down to Co Limerick to watch her racing. When she realised she was going to win she was sure not to celebrate until after she went over the line.
"There's a lot of experience in Sorrento and people were telling me 'just go and keep going until you're over the line'. Yes, I was delighted to win, I even let out a scream, but I made sure I didn't do that until I'd actually crossed the line. I just managed to get there before the others, it was an amazing feeling."
White said while she played camogie for a club when living in London, she only got into cycling about five or six years ago. Initially she rode the audax endurance events before entering some club races. However, it wasn't until last year that she decided to give open racing a go, starting with Corkagh Park.
She said she gained confidence in Corkagh Park - a closed circuit for racing - and believed a lot of women new to the sport had done the same. And now that she has won the Irish Masters title, she said she would like to see if she could get a place on a team at Rás na mBan, Ireland's premier women's stage race taking place in Kilkenny next month.
