More than a decade after winning her first medal at a Paracycling World Road Championships, Katie George Dunlevy, with pilot Linda Kelly, has been crowed world champion for the ninth time, not to mention winning four Paralympic titles.
Indeed, the Irish tandem pairing's TT world title win today brings to 18 the number of medals Dunlevy has won at the Worlds, track or road, since that first podium; road race silver at the US Worlds in 2014.
Dunlevy has competed for most of her career with Eve McCrystal as tandem pilot, but has now teamed up with Kelly. And today's TT gold medal win, on the opening day of the championships in Ronse, Belgium, is their third world title in the TT and the sixth against the watch for Dunlevy.
Today, over a 23.2km race distance, the Irish women went into competition as favourites, though they faced old foes, Sophie Unwin, and her pilot Jenny Holl, representing Great Britain.
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Twice world champions in the TT, the reigning Paralympic champions in the road race, the British pairing have always taken the battle to the Irish, and gotten the upper hand at times.
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And that dynamic meant Dunlevy and Kelly had to be at their best, with no mishaps, today to defend the TT crown they won at the Worlds last year.
In the end, though the British pair put in a good shift, Team Ireland's Dunlevy and Kelly recorded a time of 30:04, which was 31 seconds faster than the British. In the 14-bike field, France's Sophie Anee Centis, and her pilot Lara Lallemant, claimed the bronze medal at 1:43.
In the 22-bike men's tandem world title race today, Ireland was represented by Damien Vereker and pilot Mitchell McLaughlin who, like Kelly, is a top rider on the domestic road racing scene.
They put in a strong showing to finish in 7th place, with the gold medal claimed by France's Elie de Carvalho, and his pilot Mickael Guichard.
Both Irish tandem pairings will now turn their attentions to the road races on Sunday in Belgium.
