Imogen Cotter (Keukens
Redant Cycling Team) is the new Irish women’s elite road race champion, having
won the title in Coolbeg, Rathnew, Co Wicklow, today.
Megan Armitage (Rupelcleaning-Champion
Lubricants) took the silver medal while Linda Kelly (Barrow
Wheelers) won the bronze.
That result meant a final podium made up of women who came to cycling late but are now excelling. While Cotter could no longer be regarded as a complete newcomer now, given her achievements in recent seasons, Armitage and Kelly have only hit the top of Irish cycling in recent months.
The Masters title race, which was run within the elite race, was won by
Katharine Smyth (Ballymena Road
Club). She finished almost two minutes clear of Yvonne Doran (Orwell Wheelers CC), with Kate Earlie (St Tiernans CC) taking the bronze
medal.
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Cotter (28) prevailed today at the end of a fantastic 92.9km race, with the field disintegrating and only the very best riders remaining at the front as the racing enter the final 20 kilometres.
The medal winners arrived at the
line in a three-rider group, with Cotter taking the victory by a clear margin
in the sprint from Armitage and Kelly.
Just 12 seconds later, Sharon Bird (Ballymena RC) won a two-up sprint from three-time national road race champion, Lydia Boylan (Unattached).
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The top riders had gone out onto the last lap with nothing between them – split into two groups – making for a very exciting final.
Going into that final lap, with 25km
remaining, the breakaway was comprised of: Megan Armitage (Rupelcleaning-Champion
Lubricants), Linda Kelly (Barrow Wheelers), Maeve
Gallagher (Castlebar CC), Lydia Boylan (Unattached) and Imogen Cotter (Keukens
Redant Cycling Team).
At that point the four leaders were being chased by a group, at 25 seconds. The sheer quality of that chasing quarter really underlined how far Irish women’s cycling has come in the last few years.
Top tester Sharon Bird (Ballymena RC) was there, as well as Bellurgan’s Eve McCrystal, the Irish TT champion last year and road race champion two years ago. International road riders Fiona Mangan (ILLI-Bikes Cycling Team) and Caoimhe O’Brien (Torelli-Assure-Cayman Islands-Scimitar) were also in the chase group; O’Brien having won the last two rounds of the National Road Series and Mangan having won the series overall.
There was a second, two-rider, chase group on the road; some 1:05 down on the leaders with a lap to go. That was comprised of Becky Woods (All human-VeloRevolution) and Carthach McCarthy of Blarney CC.
During the final lap it was Cotter
and Armitage and Kelly who proved strongest out front, pulling away from
everyone else to fight it out for the medals.
For full race results please follow this link.
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