The Irish Time Trial National Championships took place on Thursday, June 22nd, in what proved to be a fantastic occasion for all involved.
Ryan Mullen earned his sixth time trial national title as Kelly Murphy successfully defended her crown on a sweltering evening.
Hosted by Island Wheelers, a tough 31.2km course featuring an unforgiving final drag to the line decided some close races as spectators were treated to a grand finale.
Mullen and 2022 national champion Ben Healy were separated by just seconds throughout an enthralling elite men’s time trial.
It was the Bora Hansgrohe rider who had the final kick in the upward drag to the line to edge out the in-form Healy.
Ryan Mullen said, “I came in really nervous, everyone knows how well Ben Healy has been going this year. I’ll be honest I didn’t think I could beat him. I don’t do a great deal of TT work anymore I focus most of my training on lead outs and being a bit more punchy but I was motivated and I gave what I had on the day and it was enough.
“I grew up doing TT’s, even though I’ve taken my eye off the ball a little bit in the last number of years I love them and am passionate about them and obviously it’s a huge honour to wear this jersey, it’s the biggest race of the year.”
Murphy was dominant throughout the senior women’s race, finishing almost two minutes ahead of nearest challenger and 2021 champion Joanna Patterson.
Kelly Murphy said, “I’m really relieved, I think I can relax for another year. Every year I feel like the competition hits up and new people appear, I feel like people learn about the game and so it gets tougher every year, so I’m very, very happy.
“You spend a lot of time training on your own so you never know where you’re going to compare next to other people I guess so it’s nice to know it pays off.”
Local stars Aaron and Darren Rafferty enjoyed an evening to remember as the brothers were both crowned national champion in the junior and U23 men’s categories respectively.
Darren Rafferty capped off a fine few weeks after a brilliant Giro Next Gen performance as he fought off Trinity Racing duo Dean Harvey and Kevin McCambridge with a strong pace from start to finish.
His brother Aaron was triumphant in what was for many the race of the day, with just seconds separating four riders throughout – Liam O’Brien and Patrick Casey completed a podium with just twelve seconds separating them.
Lucy Benezet Minns was a clear winner in a strong junior women’s time trial field, featuring Aine Doherty and Shauna Finn, while Damien Vereker and Marcin Mizgajski also proved the strongest in the tandem time trial with factored times.
C4 European champion Ronan Grimes put in a solid display to win the C Class category after time factoring while Allister MacSorley is the new H class national champion as he edged out Declan Slevin in an exciting handcycling race.
Full results can be viewed
here.Time Trial National Championships Results
Handbikes (Factored)
1: Allister MacSorley (Unattached Ulster) 49:35.23
2: Declan Slevin (Rosemount Cycling Club) 50:44.62
3: Seamus Wall (Barrow Wheelers) 58:32.39
C Class (Factored)
1: Ronan Grimes (Orwell Wheelers) 39:47.72
2: William Clifford (Galway Bay CC) 43:03.17
3: Chris Burns (Banbridge CC) 43:36.95
Tandems (Factored)
1: Damien Vereker and Marc Mizgajski (Comeragh CC) 39:28.99
2: Donnacha McCarthy and Sean Husband (Sandymount Dodder Wheelers) 40:10.87
3: Josephine Healion and Jennifer Bates (Tullamore CTC) 41:14.69
Junior Women
1: Lucy Benezet Minns (Tofauti Everyone Active) 46:14.87
2: Aine Doherty (VC Glendale) 49:03.77
3: Lucy Brown (Phoenix CC) 52:18.80
Junior Men
1: Adam Rafferty (US Colomiers) 38:49.51
2: Liam O’Brien (Fermoy Cycling Club) 38:54.66
3: Patrick Casey (Anexo Group Race Team) 39:01.79
U23 Men
1: Darren Rafferty (Hamens Berman Axeon) 37:43.86
2: Dean Harvey (Trinity Racing) 38:15.54
3: Kevin McCambridge (Trinity Racing) 38:41.40
Elite Women
1: Kelly Murphy (AWOL – OSHEA) 41:19.93
2: Joanna Patterson (Wahoo Le Col) 43:15.98
3: Linda Kelly (Spin the Bean Power by Coffee) 43:32.57
Elite Men
1: Ryan Mullen (Bora Hansgrohe) 37:03.35
2: Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost) 37:11.00
3: George Peden (Team PB Performance) 37:37.77
