Robin Kelly draws first blood with impressive solo victory at Ned Flanagan Memorial

Robin Kelly on his way to victory in the main event at the Ned Flanagan Memorial from James Davenport and Eddie Barry.

The trip from Waterford to Co Kildare proved worthwhile for one of the fastest men in the country today, with Robin Kelly storming to the first win of the season in Monasterevin.

The Aquablue rider took the Ned Flanagan Memorial, the first road race of the domestic campaign which he won two years ago.

However, while Kelly is best known for his fast and powerful sprint finish he did not need to rely on that today.

Instead, he got clear with around 20km remaining of the 60km event. Clearly having wintered well, he had enough in the legs to build up a very big lead and to arrive at the finish alone with at least 40 seconds to spare on the next best on the A1&A2 race bumper field.

Taking 2^nd place was James Davenport, the South Dublin CC rider who has ridden very well in spells in the past couple of years and appears to be in good form after the winter break.