JB Murphy has taken a fantastic win at the Belgian International on the velodrome in Gent; the Kildare rider ripping it up for a solo win in the U23 scratch race.
Like all of the other Irish international track riders, and many of their rivals around the world, Murphy has been denied the chance to race on the road and on the track for most of the last year and his race in Belgium today was his first of the year.
Yet he had the legs to take on an international field and win big straight out of the traps.
Murphy (21) took the bull by the horns in the closing stages and, showing no fear and great strength, he surged clear in a solo breakaway with two laps remaining to win.
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The Irish road and track international was also 3rd in the U23 points race at the meeting, also on Sunday, making for a very successful trip for him.
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Murphy is no stranger to success on the international stage as he has won medals at the both the Worlds and Europeans during his days in the junior ranks.
In 2017 he took a bronze medal in the junior points race at the World Track Championships, which he added to an elimination race silver from the European Championships the previous month.
He scored that medal at the Europeans in July, 2017, in what was his first ever race on a proper velodrome and since then has taken some big wins on the road at home in the elite peloton.
A group of Irish riders is competing in Gent this weekend, some on the national team and others with their own teams.
Emily Kay was 7th in the omnium, Orla Walsh was 5th in the keirin while Emily Kay and Lydia Gurley were 9th in the madison.
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