Richard Barry and Marine Lenehan defended their titles at the 2025 eSports National Championships, held on Saturday, January 25th.
Hosted on Zwift, this year’s Championships featured the BRAEk-fast Crits and Grits course in Scotland. The women’s race covered one lap (20.8km), while the open race consisted of two laps (41.6km). Despite challenges caused by Storm Éowyn resulting in some riders being unable to compete, a strong field delivered thrilling racing in both categories.
The open race provided an exciting contest as Richard Barry successfully defended his title in a thrilling sprint finish. Barry and Stuart Millar formed an early breakaway, with Ian Inglis in close pursuit. The trio stayed competitive throughout the race, with Barry and Millar exchanging attacks while Inglis fought hard to stay in contention.
The final kilometers saw Barry and Millar locked in a tactical battle. Millar gave it his all, but Barry’s perfectly timed sprint on the uphill finish secured victory by just +0.47 seconds. Inglis, a standout performer in last year’s Cycling Ireland eSports Winter Series, held on for a hard-earned third place.
Richard Barry shared his thoughts on his second consecutive title, saying, “I’m delighted to win the National Title and wear the jersey for another 12 months. I was super nervous this morning, and I knew how hard it would be to win this race again. Stuart and I broke away early, but Ian was never far off, which made it a very hard race. After attacking each other a couple of times and some cat and mouse, it came down to a two-up sprint up the hill to the finish, which suited me. I just stayed patient and then managed to hold Stuart off.”
Defending champion Marine Lenehan retained her title with an impressive display of strength and strategy. She attacked on a short, steep climb midway through the course, establishing a 12-second lead with 10km remaining. From there, she extended her advantage to finish comfortably ahead of her closest rival, Alyson Lowry.
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