Irish Olympian Shannon McCurley has taken two medals at
the Australian national track championships on her return to racing after a
long lay-off.
McCurley, a Rio 2016 Olympian, suffered two concussions
last year that saw her sidelined from last November until March of this year.
To compound matters, just as she was braced for a return
to competition the Covid-19 pandemic kicked in and racing was interrupted or
suspended in most parts of the world.
McCurley (28) has now returned to competition with a bang as she took silver in the omnium and the scratch race at the Australian nationals, and was 4th in the points race.
In the scratch race McCurley and Lauren Perry - a former
double world junior champion and elite team pursuit national champion - set off
after the leaders.
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McCurley and Perry caught those ahead, with Perry winning
from McCurley and one of the two early breakaway women, Bree Hargreave, taking
bronze.
In the omnium McCurley went into the final event, the
points race, in contention for the title, which came down to the final sprint.
That last gallop was shaded by Alexandra Martin-Wallace,
a former medal winner at the junior track Worlds and now an elite road
international.
Martin-Wallace came out of the event with the gold medal,
with McCurley taking another silver medal.
McCurley was able to race at the championships because
they were opened this year to international riders in a gesture to give them
racing opportunities during the pandemic period.
However, while the international riders were eligible to
take medals, including gold, only Australian riders were eligible to take the
national champion’s jersey and title.
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