Women's Crit Champs | Teenagers to take on established seniors | Sticky Bottle

Aine Doherty was crowned senior champion last year in Limerick, getting the better of Abi Conway in the fight for gold (Photo: Sean Rowe)

Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) will not be on the start line for the women's race at the National Criterium Championships tomorrow, Sunday, in Dublin but the top three finishers from last year's race are all coming back for more.

Last year in Limerick Aine Doherty (Dan Morrissey Pissei) topped the podium from Abi Conway (Paralloy RT) and Gabrielle Fox (Toyota Valencia SAV), who will all be out to win tomorrow.

While we have seen Doherty and Conway in action on home roads this year, Fox has been racing in Spain. And it will be very interesting to see how she does with another winter in her legs and a series of races in Spain completed over the last few months.

Any one of that trio can win tomorrow, as can the likes of Erin Creighton (McConvey Cycles), the track rider who is now a firm fixture on the senior Irish team and will be looking to aim for the team pursuit line-up for Olympics 2028.

The aforementioned Doherty will have Linda Kelly for a team mate tomorrow. She is always a fierce competitor who should have a real say on the outcome tomorrow.

Annalise Murphy (Longcourt Hotel-NCW Wheelers) is also a potential race winner, though her form this year is more of an unknown quantity compared to previous seasons.

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Elena Wallace (Harps CC) has been riding very strongly in recent weeks and she will be one to watch, while Claire Diffley (Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club) has also shown some recent form.

And then we have the young guns; a small group of riders who are making their names and will look to impress tomorrow.

They include Emer Heverin (Camsmajaco) and Aliyah Rafferty (DAS-Hutchinson), while the Dolans - Ffion (VW Breda) and Rhiannon (RWC Ahoy) - can also have a say.

There are six corners and the longest straight is just shy of 300m on the 980m docklands course, meaning the strongest riders may get a very limited chance to get the power on.

The event will be based in the Bike Week event village in Grand Canal Square, with the start adjacent on Hanover Quay. There will be toilets, first aid and vendors available there.

All races will start from the junction of Hanover Quay and Blood Stoney Road. Riders will be corralled on the right side of Hanover Quay before being let onto the course. The corral will open 10 minutes before the scheduled race starts.

The full schedule is as follows:

10:00am Road Closed
10:15am Masters support race (45 minutes plus 3 laps)
11:15am Paracycling and Family cycle
12:00 noon U12 Boys and Girls support race (5 laps)
12:20pm U14 and U16 Girls support race (15 minutes plus 3 laps)
12:45pm Open Practice
1pm Women’s National Criterium Championship (1hr plus 5 laps)
2:20pm Brompton Race
2:45pm Open Practice
3pm U14 Boys support race (15 minutes plus 3 laps)
3:30pm U16 Boys support race (25 minutes plus 3 laps)
4:05pm Open Practice
4:20pm Men's National Criterium Championship (1hr plus 5 laps)
6pm Road re-opens

The men's championship race is for junior, senior and masters riders. There will also be a team category, though it will only be awarded if at least three teams, of three riders, enter the race.

The women's championship race is also for senior, junior and masters riders, and the same stipulation applies to the awarding of a team national title prize - gold medals - for the winners; three teams must enter.