Linda Kelly wins out at the Mullingar Grand Prix after outlasting her fellow escapees on a day her intentions were clear, break away from the peloton. UCD's Clodagh Ní Ghallchóir and Orla Walsh completed the podium, taking 2nd and 3rd respectively.
30km from the finish, Kelly managed to put major time between herself and the pack after initially forming a group of three at the front with Orla Walsh and Sienna O'Dwyer. Soon Kelly was out of sight of the trailing group road as they took too much time to assign responsibility for the chase.
Kelly had quickly accumulated a lead of about 2 minutes and it wasn't long before the following bunch understood a first place finish was no longer a realistic possibility.
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Round six of the Cycling Ireland National Road Series saw participants land in Mullingar as the women's field took on 2 laps of a 34km circuit.
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The pace was blistering right from the off as UCD's representatives sought to take control of the bunch. The tempo deterred any major attacks early on, and those who dared to venture out were quickly reeled back in by the pack.
A huge crash troubled the peloton's unity around the mid-way point of the race as several go down. Five women were confirmed to have abandoned following the incident; Mya Doocey, Heather Foley, Jennifer Bates, Aliyah Rafferty and Josephine Lynch all had their day cut short.
The day belonged to Linda Kelly as she presented a brilliant individual ride, Jemma Speers was the other winner of the day as she took over the leader's jersey after an aggressive outing.
