Dingle's Josie Knight on facing big guns like Lizzie Deignan
Lydia Boylan, right, will be wearing the Irish national champion's kit this Saturday when she lines up alongside her WNT teammates at the Tour of Yorkshire. Also in the squad is rising Dingle star Josie Knight.
By Brian Canty
The Tour de Yorkshire is the big race in women’s professional cycling tomorrow and there are four Irish riders going into battle against the world’s best.
National road race champion Lydia Boylan and Josie Knight make up two of the five-person Team WNT squad.
And Michelle Geoghegan (Team Jadan Weldtite) and Lauren Creamer (Team Fiord Ecoboost) are also in action.
For Josie Knight it will be something of a dream come true when she lines up against the likes of former world champion Lizzie Deignan, the unstoppable Anna Van Der Breggen and cyclocross star Nikki Brammeier.
Advertisement
Those three will spearhead the hottest of favourites in the Boels Dolmen team. Canyon SRAM, Wiggle High5 and Drops are just some of the other strong teams competing.
Related News
Knight, from Dingle, Co Kerry, knows her only mission will be to survive against such world-class opposition.
But she has reason to be confident given her strong track pedigree and seamless transition to the road this year.
“Seeing as I'm so young and it's only my second ever UCI race I'm pretty nervous and excited going into it,” she said.
“I’m not sure what to expect but we have a strong team. I'll be hoping to do all I can to help secure a good result.
“We definitely have the strength to get a good result so I’m just hoping for the best.
“It's a pretty brutal course but then the harder the road the more I like it,” she added.
Josie Knight to savour atmosphere
Knight also admitted she cannot wait to hit the wall of noise that the race has become famous for.
“The crowds and the atmosphere surrounding the race will be just fantastic.”
The women’s race is just a one-day contest over 122 kilometres of hard terrain.
“I hope chasing my brother up the Conor Pass for the last few years will help me get up the hills,” she laughed.
Topics
