Huge day for Griffin with first World Tour podium of career | Video

Mia Griffin, far left, takes the biggest win of her career today at Tour of Guangxi, a one-day World Tour race in China (Photo: Tour of Guangxi-SCA)

Everyone loves a comeback story and Mia Griffin delivered a brilliant one today at the Tour of Guangxi today, a one-day World Tour race in China, with the biggest result of her road race career to date.

The Israel Premier Tech rider has already taken two medals on the track in the Europeans - bronze in both the U23 individual pursuit and team pursuit - as well as being a World Cup gold medalist with the Irish team pursuiters.

However, today she did what very few Irish riders have; making the podium in a World Tour road race, the top flight of road racing globally. And she has ended her season with that incredible result after seeing most of her 2023 slip down the drain when she suffered concussion in a crash during Paris-Roubaix back in the spring.

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Today, after 144.6km of racing starting and finishing in Guilin, Griffin placed 3rd in the bunch sprint that settled the honours; galloping in just behind winner Daria Pikulik (Human Powered Health) and runner-up Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ).

Griffin was in big company in that top three as Polish rider Pikulik was taking the sixth victory of her season while Italian Consonni has just won a stage and the final overall at Tour of Chongming Island (2.WWT).

Alice Sharpe, Griffin's team mate in Israel Premier Tech Roland and in the Irish team pursuit set-up, was part of the Kilkenny woman's lead-out today and also placed 26th herself.

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Today's race was unfortunately - and disgracefully - marred by the lack of any TV coverage, which is against the UCI rules for women's World Tour racing, though the organisers appear to have simply ignored those rules.

However, Griffin still comes away from the race having demonstrated her ability to secure top results at this level; a welcome confidence-booster after missing so much racing this year. When she return to the peloton in August, after a protracted recovery over four months, she soon signalled her form with two stage victories at Rás na mBan.

Those victories were followed very quickly with gold in the National Criterium Championships in Mondello Park, Co Kildare. And at the Tour of Chongming in China last week, she claimed 8th on the opening stage, which came down to a bunch sprint.

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