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Katie-George Dunlevy won her seventh Paralympic Medal today, Wednesday 4th of September. Piloted by Linda Kelly, the pair won the Women’s B Individual Time Trial at Clichy-Sous-Bois, Paris.
Five Team Ireland bikes competed in the Individual Time Trial at the opening day to Road Cycling action at the Paralympic Games.
Reigning World Champions Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly put in a spectacular performance, with a time of 38:16.58, to win the Women’s B Individual Time Trial.
Dunlevy came into today’s Individual Time Trial as the one to beat, having won Gold with pilot Eve McCrystal in Tokyo and in Rio. Dunlevy, who won a Silver medal on the track in what was her final race with McCrystal on Sunday, was delighted to add a seventh Paralympic medal to her tally. When asked to put the victory into words, Dunlevy laughed and said, “Pain is the word!”
Reflecting on the Time Trial, she said, “It was a really, really challenging course. Really technical. I thought we were going to come off a few times but that’s racing for you. You’re on the limit. We knew the course suited us, the uphill sections suited us so we had to really go over on our power on those hill parts because that was where we’d get time on the other bikes and I think we delivered a really good ride.
“Even on the second lap we were able to y push out big power on those hills. When we heard we were down on the first lap I thought ‘keep going, just keep going’.
“I’ve been in many races where it’s not over ‘til you cross that line so you’ve just got to keep going and just hope the other bikes maybe fade. You’ve just got to keep strong, keep racing, keep believing, just keep racing to that finish line.
The pair established a lead over Sophie Unwin, piloted by Jenny Holl, for Great Britain, which grew throughout, ultimately resulting in a 1:23.60 difference. Also for Great Britain and completing the podium was Lora Fachie, piloted by Corrie Hall.
“When I heard we were up I was just trying to relax and push and feel what Linda was doing in front and just try and be as aero (dynamic) as I could be behind her, tucked in. I’m just so proud of her. We had pressure on us. I was trying to retain my title from Tokyo, she knew that.”
Kelly joined Dunlevy as a pilot in 2023 and knew that retaining the Olympic title was a key aim, Dunlevy didn’t underestimate the pressure this put on Kelly.
“Linda came on board last year and she’s done so well with so much pressure on her today to deliver but I believed in her, believed in every pedal stroke. She had concussion in May so had time off the bike. She had a lot of challenges this year, we both did so for us to come away with the win, I’m just very emotional now. I can’t quite believe this!”
Kelly was overjoyed to become a Paralympic champion, “It’s magic, it’s just like a dream. I can’t believe it. It’s going to take a while to sink in. I’m just so happy. We both put the work in, it’s been a roller-coaster of a year with Katie’s collarbone and my concussion. I’m just so proud of Katie; how she recovered from the broken collarbone. She put the work in. She wanted to be here. She just wanted to win. We both had the same ambition. I’m absolutely thrilled, just over the moon.”
Also in action in the same Time Trial and making her Paralympic debut on the road with Eve McCrystal as her pilot, Josephine Healion was delighted with their performance which saw them finish in fifth place, in a time of 41:57.61.
Talking about the experience, Healion said, “I couldn’t have done anymore, it was really tough, really hard course. It was hot but we got through it and I’m happy with that. The girls won, (Katie and Linda) huge congratulations to them.”
McCrystal added, “I’m wrecked, it was a really tough course, I enjoyed it, it was hot it was tough, I liked the course though. Her first Paralympics Games, I’m very proud of this one and she’s just a star and she will only continue to grow and a huge congratulations to Katie and Linda on their race too.”
Richael Timothy once again was the first of the Team Ireland riders out on course. The Galway native who made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo competed in the Women’s C1-3 Individual Time Trial. She completed the 14.1km circuit in a time of 24:32.40 to finish in 12th position.
Speaking afterwards Timothy was happy with her performance, using it as an opportunity to familiarise herself with the course ahead of Saturday’s Road Race, “It’s a tough course, it’s technical enough. There are two drags in the course and then some uphill. I caught the two people in front of me, they are in different categories than me, so it was hard to know where you were. Road race is my main event, so I was just happy to get out there and get a run at the course.”
Damien Vereker, piloted by Mitchell McLaughlin, finished seventh in the Men’s B Individual Time Trial. The Time Trial covered a distance of 28.3km, which they completed in 36:31.09.
Waterford’s Vereker finished sixth in the same event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Piloted by McLaughlin since 2023, the pair compete in both track and road events. They picked up a top ten finish in this the Men’s B Individual Time at the 2023 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships.
Speaking after today’s race Vereker said, “It was really hot, we didn’t want to give everything on the first hill we wanted to reserve something for the second lap.”
“The road race on Friday is our main event so it was good to get out today and get a look at the course,” added McLaughlin.
Competing in the Men’s C4 Individual Time Trial marked the second last race of his career for Ronan Grimes.
A time of 39:01.83 saw him finish eighth place.
“During the race, I thought I could be on for a good result but then when I got over the finish line and saw, I thought I was just not at the races, really. I don’t know why, I was pushing hard. It’s really hard to know where you are when on the course, I caught the person who went out a minute before me so I thought I was doing well.
“I pushed hard on the climbs. I thought I was going well but maybe the others were just better. I’m disappointed with the result but my form has been good and I was confident going into this race but it just didn’t happen for me. Overall the experience (at the Paralympics) has been great.” reflected Grimes.
Host nation France filled the top two places on the podium with Kevin le Cunff and Gatien le Rousseau respectively. Spain’s Damien Ramos Sanchez in third.
Grimes has shown good form in this event in recent years, he picked up a sixth place in the C4 Individual Time Trial at the Tokyo Olympic Games and also at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Glasgow last year.
Ronan Grimes will be the next Team Ireland athlete to complete, he takes to the road in the Men’s C4-5 Road Race on Friday morning. Also competing on Friday will be Damien Vereker, piloted by Mitchell McLaughlin, in the Men’s B Road Race. Katie-George Dunlevy, piloted by Linda Kelly, and Josephine Healion, piloted by Eve McCrystal, will compete in the final race of the day on Friday – the Women’s B Road Race.
Richael Timothy will conclude the para-cycling action for Team Ireland, riding in the Women’s C1-3 Road Race on Saturday, 7th of September.
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