Fiona Mangan has emerged from the National Road Championships in her native Limerick as a double Irish champion after breaking the heart of Grace Reynolds in the final of the women's elite-U23 road race today.
Reynolds (Brother UK-Orientation Marketing), a British-based rider who recently declared for Ireland, looked for a long time as if she may take an unlikely victory in the title race. She took the initiative early, with a solo attack that stretched out to a lead of well over two minutes.
And though the group of favorites pegged her back to within 40 seconds deep into the final, the last bit of that gap did not look like closing. The tactical battle among the fancied riders looked for the longest time like it may play into the hands of lone leader Reynolds.
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But then up stepped Mangan. The Cynisca Cycling rider, who had won the Irish TT crown in Limerick on Thursday evening, put in a blistering solo attack inside the closing kilometres.
And though she was pursued hard by a chasing group that included defending champion Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) and Megan Armitage (EF Education-Cannondale), Mangan committed to the task at hand.
She managed to overhaul Reynolds just before the finish and then got the better of her in the final charge to the line, securing the Irish road race title by two seconds from breakaway rider Reynolds.
And though Reynolds was caught on the line by the chasing group, she secured a well -deserved silver medal ahead of Gillespie, who took bronze; that duo finishing just two seconds down on new double champion Mangan.
Caoimhe O'Brien (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) took 4th place, and gold in the U23 race, with her sister Aoife O'Brien (Cyclingteam Belco-Van Eyck) placing 5th, and claiming the silver medal in the U23 race.
Maeve Gallagher of Castlebar CC, the former junior road race champion turned international triathlete, was 6th, a further four seconds back. Gallagher finished alongside Armitage, who was 7th, also at six seconds.
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And then came the best of the rest; former road race champion Eve McCrystal (Bellurgan Wheelers) finishing 48 seconds back in 8th, with Linda Kelly (Spin the Bean) in 9th at 52 seconds. Abi Conway (Westport Covey Wheelers Cycling Club) rounded out the top 10 at 1:28, to claim the U23 bronze medal.
Today Reynolds - a former middle distance runner turned cyclist - put in a brilliant performance, going clear in the 27km outer circuit, with two of the four laps of that course to complete, before two 5km smaller laps at the finish.
The 22-year-old was tipped by precisely nobody - except for herself - but when she made her move, the bigger names stalled. And when they did, the impressive Reynolds grabbed her chance, pulling out a gap of 30 seconds in no time.
Behind her, the chasing group - from what was a very small starting bunch - threw up a crash that saw defending champion Gillespie come down, as well as Ellen McDermott (Keukens Redant Cycling Team), Doireann Killeen (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) and Nicola Lynch (Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club), though they remounted and battled on.
But by the time that spill occurred in the chasing pack, the 30 seconds Reynolds had eked out had already climbed to over one minute. From that point the dynamic of the title race was set; a young up and comer out front solo putting it all on the line pursued by a group intent on marking each other as much as chasing.
By the time Reynolds crossed the line to go out onto the final 27km lap, with a total of 10km to go after that, she had just over two minutes in hand. And though she was still very catchable, she had already put in a storming ride. And she wasn't finished yet.
Reynolds continued to plough away solo up front, all through that last big lap, onto the first of the 5km laps and then the second. And though her lead was down to between 30-40 seconds on the final lap, that last big push to catch her didn't come.
But then stepped up Mangan. Buoyed by her TT win - not to mention local knowledge and the form of her life this weekend - she put in a surge on the last lap. She drew clear of the favourites group, though with 2km remaining she was still 12 seconds down on Reynolds, with the chasers a further four seconds back.
It took Mangan until the final kilometre to catch and pass Reynolds to win, though Reynolds held off the chasing group for 2nd place.
