Having secured medals in major championships for Ireland for a decade now, the Irish paracyclists were at it again today at the UCI World Road Championships, taking gold and bronze from the same race.
The gold medal winner from the Paris Paralympics, Katie George Dunlevy - piloted by Linda Kelly - was on top again an the end of the women's B tandem road race in Zurich, taking a solo victory to cap an incredible season.
They add today's rainbow bands to the TT and road race gold and silver from the Paralympics, as well as their gold medal from the TT earlier this week in Zurich; a remarkable haul in just a few weeks.
And though the second Irish tandem - Josephine Healion piloted by Eve McCrystal - came away from the Paralympics without a hoped for medal, they claimed a bronze today. Though the two Irish tandems were favourites for the medals, their stepping up for success in the same day was very impressive.
Advertisement
Dunlevy and Kelly were beaten in a sprint finish by the British Unwin-Holl tandem in the Paralympics road race after doing much of the work on the front in a bid to get rid of them.
Related News
And on a more challenging course today, they were able to distance them; going solo and winning gold by a margin of 1:23.
Then came Healion and McCrystal, bowing out of piloting duties at these Worlds. They claimed the bronze at 1:39, some 1:03 up on the one of the three Polish bikes in the 11-bike race.
Healion and McCrystal forged clear early in the race, building a gap of over minute over their compatriots and Unwin-Holl, though the three bikes back back together later.
They were chased by the eventual 4th place finishers Patrycja Kuter and Katarzyna Kornasiewicz before the distance and undulating terrain resulted in more decisive gaps emerging.
UCI World Road Champs | Women's B Road Race
