Susie Mitchell on her way to the World Masters individual pursuit title in Manchester last October; she won the Duane Delaney Memorial at Sundrive Rd, south Dublin, on Saturday.
By Caroline Martinez
Susie Mitchell won the Duane Delaney GP on Saturday at the Sundrive Vélodrome in south Dublin by taking enough points in the women’s events to run out the overall victor.
The event is a unique one and uses a points system that allows riders of different abilities and categories to compete head-to-head on a level playing field over a mixture of racing formats.
Mitchell (Sundrive Track Team) proved her dominance in the women’s category and gathered enough points to take the overall win across all four categories.
“I’m amazed; I couldn't believe,” she said.
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“It was neck and neck with myself and Orla [Hendron] all through the day.”
Both riders have won World Masters Championships titles on the track in their age category, and it was no surprise they would dominate the field on Saturday. Mitchell knows her forté is the timed events and that the 500m TT would be the decider on the day.
“We both won one race and came second in a race. We were neck and neck going into the last event (500m TT). I felt that after she did her time I could actually post a faster time than she did, but I was very, very nervous. But thankfully, I felt focused completely on my own performance and I equaled my PB, which is 40.8, so I’m thrilled.”
Almost a year ago to the day, Mitchell gave birth to her baby daughter Tori. Now back to work as a vet, she tries to combine motherhood with working and training, as well as finishing her book about training through pregnancy. She is confident she is doing her best to keep improving, even if training is not always easy.
“The season is going okay. The track has really only started off. I’m going as fast now as I was going at the end of last year so I’m hoping to really knock my times down a bit this year.”
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“Hopefully it wasn't just the baby hormones that were making me go so fast last year. We’ll see, but I think I'm going okay on the track, whatever about the road.”
“Training is a lot harder. When I was on maternity leave last year I had loads of time to train. It’s as close as I would ever be to being a full time athlete. But now I have to try and juggle work, and I am working all over the country. I could be gone three days out of the week, so it’s very hard. I usually try to bring my rollers with me if I'm going away for a few days.”
After a few forays into road racing for training purposes earlier this season, Mitchell will now mainly focus on the track.
“I was doing road racing as part of my training. I've been trying hard but it’s a different story on the road. It’s all about minding your energy and I learned that the hard way as I got dropped on a few occasions. I’m finding it quite hard to adapt.”
“I’m enjoying it but I have a long way to go on the road. The track is my main focus. I will only race the national road (championships) if it doesn't clash with something on the track, and if it’s not too hilly; maybe I’ll do it then. I’m just not a fan of the hills!”
“What I really want to do is improve my times, particularly in the 500m TT and the pursuit. I’m hoping to go back to the Masters [World Championship] again in October and I really would like to ride a faster time.”
“I’ll do the bunch racing too, but my focus is really on the timed events; it’s what I love most. I’m going back there with a vengeance to defend my (pursuit) title and I would also like to improve my 500 performance too. I’m in the middle of the pack on that one at the moment in my age group. I’m trying to inch my way up and I really want to get in the medals for the 500 in the next couple of years. It might take a year or two but I'm hoping to eventually get there.”
But before defending her Masters stripes in October, next up for Mitchell is the International Track Day and the Irish Omnium Championships in July.
“Multi events like that suit me. I might not be the best bunch racer but there a few timed events where I’m going OK.”
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