Ciara Doogan has put in a very good performance in the junior women's road race at the European Championships in Estonia today, the Errigal CC woman finishing 25th from 80 starters.
By Brian Canty
Ciara Doogan has finished a fine 25th place in the junior women’s race at the European Championships in Tartu, Estonia, this morning.
The Errigal CC woman was one of around 40 riders sprinting for the win after a very difficult and high-paced 74-kilometre event.
Six laps of a 12.4 kilometre course is what the bunch of over 80 riders faced this morning and with three short, sharp climbs on each lap it was always going to be a wearing-down process.
Doogan, who represented Ireland at the European Track Championships with distinction last month, was to the fore on the climbs.
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And as riders went out the back door as the laps ticked down she was still in there fighting against the bigger nations.
She was on her own too and had no teammates for support so her achievement must be commended.
The Dutch and Italian teams tried to impose themselves on the climbs with their numerical advantage, as did the Belgians and Swedish.
But Doogan clung in there as the group thinned out, demonstrating that she has the legs and the guts for this level.
Several riders tried to escape on the final laps and indeed, in the final kilometres, but nothing managed to stick with the race coming down to a bunch sprint.
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In the end, only 38 came to the line for the gallop and it was Italian Nadia Quagliotto who got the verdict from her teammate Rachele Barbieri with Karina Kasenova of Russia rounding out the podium.
The race took just 1 hour 54 minutes to complete and it marks a huge step forward in Doogan’s fledgling career.
This brought an end to her European campaign but it’s one she can look back on with a lot of pride.
In the time-trial on Thursday she was 29th of around 50 riders, some two minutes off the time of the winner.
Next up for the Irish are the junior and U23 men’s road races tomorrow and they’ll start at 8am and 12 noon Irish time.
They can both be watched here.
Doogan, far right, keeping an eye on the Italians. She maintained her position near the head of the peloton throughout her event, which is much easier said than done at this level.
Doogan in the Irish jersey in the centre and up near the front of the field in Estonia this afternoon.
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