Lucy Benezet Minns dominates to win junior crown at National Champs | Video | Sticky Bottle

*Lucy Benezet Minns celebrates her victory in the junior women's road race at the National Road Championships this morning (Photo: Bryan Keane-Inpho)*

Lucy Benezet Minns has launched her career as an Irish rider in some style with a dominant victory on Sunday morning in the junior women's road race at the National Road Championships, promoted by Island Wheelers in Co Tyrone.

The Tofauti Active rider, who impressed earlier this season in UCI-ranked races in Europe, had already won the TT title, last Thursday, before going into this morning's road race. And though the field was a small one, she abandoned any notion of playing it safe and attacking late in the contest.

Instead, she broke free alone very soon after the start and rode most of the race out front solo. She never wavered and took the gold medal by a very big margin; some 7½ minutes clear on the line at the end of the 64.9km race.

As Benezet Minns was ploughing away - in sodden conditions - out front alone, Aine Doherty of VC Glendale was making her move from the group behind. That group split to pieces in the closing stages, with Doherty proving strongest of them and riding to the silver medal.

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Doherty, who was 2nd in the TT on Thursday, finished 7:36 down on the road race winner today. She was also 2:18 up on Lucy Brown (Phoenix CC) and Elena Wallace (Harps CC); that latter duo in a two-up battle for the bronze medal. On the finish line it was Brown who got the verdict over Wallace for the bronze.

Hannah Hayes (TC Racing) finished in 6th place, at 14:16 while top cyclocross rider, Hannah McClorey (RFDA), was 6th at 14:16. Zoe Lindsay and Zoe Shakespeare, both TC Racing, were 7th and 8th; the two team mates finishing together.

More to come.