Ireland's Josie Knight putting the power down in Spain, where she seemed on course for a top 10 World Championships placing until a crash ruined her day (Photo: Sirotti)
By Brian Canty
In Ponferrada
Ireland’s sole participant in the women’s junior time trial (TT) at the World Road Championships, Josie Knight has finished 37th despite crashing during this morning’s 13.9km race against the clock.
The 17-year-old, who won a silver medal at the European Track Championships in the pursuit earlier this year, was well on course for a top 10 placing when she came down in what were very wet conditions in Spain.
She finished 1.45 down on winner Macey Stewart of Australia; with its juniors occupying 1st, 3rd and 4th such was their strength in depth.
Knight, from Dingle in Co Kerry, was putting in a great performance for herself and her country when she fell in the closing kilometres
Advertisement
Of the O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk club in Cork, she was on a fast descent when she hammered a speed bump and lost control. She then encountered another bump and her back wheel slid out from behind and she hit the deck.
The talent Irish teenager picked herself up gingerly – despite a nasty gash to her right hip – and rode on; only to have to stop a second time to fix her chain which had dismounted from the chainring.
The crash happened inside three kilometres to go and when she was really churning out a fast pace.
She had been hoping for a top 10 ride and looked on course to achieve that, though Cycling Ireland insisted before these championships that there was no pressure on her.
It was a miserable morning for the junior women's time trial and a cocktail of full commitment, speed bumps and the wet saw Josie Knight come unstuck (Photo: Sirotti)
Related News
Stewart won the race in a phenomenal time of 20:08, with Dane Pernille Mathiesen in second at 10 seconds and Anna Leeza-Hull, also of Australia, three seconds further back in the bronze medal position.
Alexandra Manly, at 13 seconds, was 4th making it a remarkable day for the Australians.
However, Knight can be very proud of her effort today and her presence here merely underlines what a superb year it has been for her.
Last year she was crowned U16 national champion having won the time-trial and the criterium, and since then her progress has known no bounds.
She won a stunning silver in the individual pursuit at the Europeans in Portugal back in July, having set the quickest time in the qualifiers. And she is one of the very brightest prospects to emerge in recent years.
On Friday she will tackle the junior women's road race, again as the sole Irish rider in the event. And like the TT today, there will be no pressure on her to do anything, given how new she is to the sport.
But in this kind of form, and assuming she recovers in time from today’s spill, she is not one for sitting in the bunch and watching the race go by.
We will have reaction from Knight later.
The junior women's TT podium: Australia's Stewart and Hull with gold and bronze and Dane Mathiesen splitting them with silver (Photo: Sirotti)
Topics
