Grace Young wins World Cyclocross Champs medal with storming ride | Sticky Bottle

*Grace Young on the podium with new champion Kate Eedy of Great Britain and Spain's Ruth Marques*

Grace Young has medaled at the Masters World Cyclocross Championships; the All human-VeloRevolution rider putting in a storming performance in a very competitive field to take a huge result.

Ireland’s Young, a road international, put down a big deposit on her Worlds medal on the opening lap of seven today when she shot up the field, from about 15th to 2nd place, by negotiating the first corners better than her rivals.

And while she was hunted down all the way to the line by the strong women behind her, she managed to further distance almost all of them through the contest and take a medal at Worlds level.

Young came away with the bronze after her race in Trinity Park, East Suffolk in England. The Masters 45-49 world title went to Kate Eedy (Team Empella Cyclo-Cross.com); the British rider getting into an early lead and powering to a strong victory.

Eedy was 1:42 up on Spain’s Ruth Marques (Pcm Team Oviedo) at the finish, with Young taking bronze just 27 seconds behind her Spanish rival.

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While Cork woman Young had shot up the field on the first lap of the 50-minute race and slotted into 2nd place behind eventual winner Eedy, Spain's Marques was never too far behind the Irish rider and continued to press her hard.

Young managed to hold leader Eedy, the European champion, and her ability to do that saw both of them – and Marques just behind – pull ahead of the rest of the 35 riders in the field. They got established into the medal positions very early in the race and never faltered.

Young held onto 2nd place for a long time, with Marques only gradually gaining each lap. However, the Spanish rider eventual caught her Irish rival, after a sustained effort over three laps. Marques then began to nudge ahead of Young with about two laps remaining.

That left Young in 3rd position, being pursued by Danish rider Cordula Neudörffer (RSC Kattenberg) in 4th. And while Neudörffer put up a big fight in a bid to deny the Irish rider the bronze, Young had the goods to hold her off and finish the world title race with a medal; an incredible result.

All human-VeloRevolution's Young has been one of the best riders in the country on the road and in cyclocross over the last decade. She has wins in races like the Des Hanlon and elite National Criterium Championships, among many others, in her palmares. But her result today, taking at a medal in a cyclocross world title race, ranks among the best of her career.

More to come.