In the Irish Road Time Trial Championships the big guns have to be Roche, Mullen and Dunbar. But in what order? (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Irish Road Cycling Time Trial Championships
By Brian Canty
The elite men’s race at the National TT Championships in Co Wexford this evening is set to be a fascinating battle.
And when it comes to picking a final podium from all Irish cycling has to offer, it is very hard to look past last year’s medal winners.
On that occasion Nicolas Roche (Team Sky) took gold from Eddie Dunbar (Axeon Hagens Berman) and Ryan Mullen (Cannondale Drapac).
And while Mullen is the pure tester in the field, Dunbar is one of the best road men in the world in the U23 category.
However, in Roche they face not only the defending champion, but also a man who has done it all for over a decade.
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Nicolas Roche, Eddie Dunbar and Annie Turvey.
Roche has just ridden the Critérium du Dauphiné and if he has prepared for today’s test it will require a very strong ride from Mullen or Dunbar to beat him.
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Mullen, of course, was 5th in the World TT Championships last year; the best ever result by an Irish rider in that event.
However, while he took a top 10 in the opening stage of the recent Tour de Suisse TT, he was far off the pace in final stage TT, coming home in 26th.
Against that backdrop, while he may very well win tonight, his form has been a little unpredictable of late.
Dunbar was 6th in the U23 TT at the Europeans last year and 9th at the Worlds against the clock.
He also recorded the equal fastest time in the TT stage of Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux (2.2) this year.
Since then he has won the U23 Tour of Flanders, but more recently crashed out of the Baby Giro.
And having had just over a week to recover from that crash in Italy, and the concussion he suffered, his ability to ride to his best this evening is unclear.
While hard to look beyond those three for the medals, Marcus Christie (SBR Performance) and Michael O’Loughlin (Team Wiggins) are also in the hunt.
Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport) and Ian Richardson (UCD-FitzCycles) can also push hard. One wildcard is Bryan McCrystal.
He has been focussing on IronMan this year but would not be riding the championships unless he had prepared specifically for it. Could he stage an upset?
Ryan Mullen rolls down the ramp at 7.12pm tonight so we can expect him home by 8-ish.
Nicolas Roche goes four minutes after Mullen at 7.16pm, and last of the order as the defending champion.
The course is one Roche and Mullen will like as it suits a rider who can turn a big gear.
The women’s race is going to be a battle between reigning champion Anna Turvey (Vagabond Tyneside), Eve McCrystal (Garda CC) and Eileen Burns (Ballymena RC).
It should be a cracking contest because each of the three come into it in good form.
McCrystal has been a prolific winner of road races this year while Burns and Turvey have been bashing out some really good times over courses similar to what’s in-store tonight.
The action gets underway with the H1-H5 category at 5.01pm and that is followed by the C1-C5, the tandem and the women and men.
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