Just 48 hours after winning the TT rainbow bands Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal have won the road race title. It's the second year in succession they have won both world titles.
Katie George Dunlevy, Eve McCrystal world champions again
Fresh from taking another TT world title, Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal have completed the double double.
They’ve won gold in the road race at the Paracycling World Road Championships in Italy.
These championships are the second in succession they’ve won the rainbow bands in both the race against the clock and the road race.
Ireland’s Golden Girls are now not just winning medals; they’re carving their names deep in the history books.
Today in Maniago, Italy, at the end of the 81.6km contest – six 13.6km laps – they were 2½ minutes out front on their own; defending in style the crown they won in South Africa last year.
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Team GB won silver, with Poland taking bronze after an aggressive title race in the B tandem category.
Dunlevy said it was incredible to race again for gold just 48 hours after winning Friday’s test.
“After the TT we didn’t have that pressure going in to the race. We just wanted to enjoy it,” she said.
“And, of course, we wanted to win it. We had an idea of what we were going to do,” she added of their race plan.
“But, you know; sometimes you have to wait and see how the race actually pans out.
“I knew by the third lap that some other bikes were struggling. And even though I was struggling we weren’t under pressure."
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The Irish woman track Team GB and the Kiwis before they broke clear. Riding way out front on their way to another worlds gold.
Dunlevy continued: “I believed we could get away from them,” she added, saying the fourth lap really split the field.
“We could see on the hill that they were struggling and we pushed and got a gap.
“And we just put our heads down and worked to the line. We didn’t ease up in case something might happen.
“So we kept on the pressure and came in 2½ minutes ahead of the GB bike which is fantastic. It was a great win and we are delighted to take the title.”
McCrystal said they had both enjoyed the race, which she believed was one of the best they had ever been in.
“It was hard from the start; the Brits put the pressure on. The first 5km was hilly and technical.
“A few bikes were dropped straight away. It was a really good course. There was everything in it – technical, hilly – the course suited us.
“On the fourth lap, through that hilly technical section, I just saw an opportunity to go,” McCrystal added.
“But it wasn’t a full attack; it was just pressure on. The others were under pressure so I said let’s go, so we went for it.
“The Polish got across to us and we lost them then on the hill. We just felt really, really good today. So we did the rest of it on our own.
“We had 40km left to do on our own. We never got a big gap until the very last lap.
“But we knew we were going fast. It was great to (win) again and we kept the world champion jersey – it’s great.”
In the men’s B tandem race Peter Ryan and Sean Hahessy finished 9th while Damien Vereker and Dermot Radford were 14th.
Ronan Grimes was 11th in the men’s C4 road race. He finished in the front group sprinting for gold.
Colin Lynch was 19th in the men’s C2 road race. Declan Slevin was not among the finishers in the men’s H3 handcycling road race.
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