Emer Heverin has emulated Lara Gillespie in winning her first senior Irish title aged just 16 years (Photo: Toby Watson)
Emer Heverin (Cams Majaco) has been crowned Irish criterium champion 2026 after emerging victorious from an all-out, very wet, hour of racing at the National Criterium Championships in Dublin city centre on Sunday.
Hevrin, a 16-year-old first-year junior, won in a sprint from a four-rider group, edging Aine Doherty (Dan Morrissey-Pissei) and Linda Kelly (Dan Morrissey-Pissei) into the silver and bronze medal positions.
Erin Creighton (McConvey Cycles), who made the Irish Olympic track team, as reserve, for Paris 2024 had to settle for 4th today, just missing a medal.
On the 980m course, with six corners and multiple changes of surface – including a short cobbled section - the rain was the major issue the riders had to contend with.
From the outset, defending champion Aine Doherty (Dan Morrissey-Pissei) looked especially comfortable throwing the bike around in the rain.
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Indeed, she joined forces with team mate Kelly very effectively; the duo appearing to let each other go on the corners and forcing the other riders to work to close the gaps.
Within a handful of laps, the race was split to pieces and with about 10 laps completed a breakaway group had formed at the front.
In was comprised of: Aine Doherty and Linda Kelly (both Dan Morrissey-Pissei), Erin Creighton (McConvey Cycles), Elena Wallace (Harps CC), Emer Heverin (Cams Majaco), Freya Whiteside (Simpson Nouvelles) and Gabrielle Fox (Toyota Valencia SAV).
However, there was very little time to get settled into the race out front as the constant need to sprint out of the corners made for an attritional contest.
Wallace and Fox began to slip off the back of the group and she was followed some time later by Whiteside.
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And that left just four up front: Aine Doherty and Linda Kelly (both Dan Morrissey-Pissei), Erin Creighton (McConvey Cycles) and Emer Heverin (Cams Majaco) – the strongest in the race today, without question.
Heverin, a first-year junior, was putting in a fantastic performance, looking like she had the bike handling skills and the firepower to hold her place in the group with no apparent difficulty.
Though it’s early in her career yet, the 16-year-old is generally looking like the real deal, including a 5th place at the recent junior women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
After 23 laps of racing, just seven riders remained in the race; the four leaders being chased by Whiteside, Fox and Wallace.
Up front, Doherty and Kelly continued to ride really well as a duo. Kelly was throwing in repeated digs, with Doherty also having a go.
But none of those efforts was able to shake off Creighton or young Heverin; the latter so impressive considering her youth.
Coming through the start-finish with six laps remaining, Kelly was attacking, covered by Creighton, then a small gap back to Heverin, with Doherty just behind – the first time a gap had appeared in the group.
With four laps remaining, it was the turn of Heverin to have a go; jumping hard and opening a decent gap, though chased by Doherty, with Kelly and Creighton just behind.
The four riders stayed together over the final laps, with Heverin and Doherty the strongest by a margin in the final sprint, though Heverin won it well from the defending champion.
Kelly and Creighton were just a couple of lengths behind in a tight battle for the bronze, won by Kelly, with Creighton just finishing off the podium having been up the road for the full race.
More to come.
