Emer Heverin may be riding her first major championships for Ireland, at the Europeans in Germany, but she has ridden a stormer (Photo: Tommaso Pelagalli-Sprint Cycling Agency)
Emer Heverin has won Ireland's first medal at the junior-U23 European Track Championships in Germany, with the Irish teenager taking silver in the junior women's omnium.
Having only just missed out on a medal ride in the individual pursuit earlier in these championships - 6th in qualifying, just four tenths of a second off the bronze medal ride-off - she rode a brilliant omnium today.
In what was the first major championships for the first-year junior, she was 4th in the opening scratch race of the omnium - a four-race competition.
She then followed that up with 2nd in the tempo race, to move herself into the silver medal position. Heverin was then 5th in the elimination race.
It meant she went into the last event of four 2nd overall, with 104 points and just eight points behind leader Angelina Novolodskaya of Russia.
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Heverin was also 14 points head of 3rd placed Anna Meeusen (Belgium) and 16 points clear of Great Britain's Melanie Rowe in 4th place.
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In the first sprint of the points race, Belgian rider Meeusen closed up on Heverin a little, by winning the sprint and collecting five points. Novolodskaya extended her lead by taking 2nd, and three points.
However, the next sprint was contested by a small breakaway group, comprised of riders well down the overall classification, meaning no change towards the top of the leader board.
And that was repeated in the third sprint, when all the points went to a six-rider breakaway comprised of riders not in contention for medals at the start of the race.
With 18 laps to go, Ireland's Heverin was part of a three-rider counter-attack after the six leaders, who were still away, but they were quickly closed down.
However, the six riders not only stayed away for the next sprint, they also gained a lap, and with it 20 points each. And that move some of them much closer to Heverin.
For example, Italy's Matilde Rossignoli shot up to 3rd place, on 101 points, now just three points down on Heverin, who was still holding the silver medal position.
Meeusen and Rowe then placed in the next sprint, but they were still behind Heverin going into the final sprint, with double points on offer; Meeusen now seven points down on Heverin, who was still 2nd overall.
And though Meeusen scored again in the final sprint, it was now enough to overtake Heverin - who was 5th in that last sprint. The Irish teenager claimed silver behind Russian, and new European champion, Novolodskaya.
