SUCCESS CONTINUED FOR Louth cyclist Eve McCrystal on Saturday, as she was crowned National Elite Women’s Road Race champion.
The Paralympic cyclist, who represented Ireland at the 2016 Rio Games, finished ahead of Lydia Gurley and Alice Sharpe to claim gold in the 105km race in Sligo.
Competitors faced six laps of the 17.56km circuit in Collooney, with Garda Cycling Club representative McCrystal seeing off competition from defending champion Lydia Boylan (WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling), as well as Lauren Creamer (Brotherton Cycles) and Ellen McDermott (Boompods EDCO NRG), who both finished on the podium in 2017.
“It’s amazing. It’s a long time coming, I just can’t believe it and I’m just delighted,” McCrystal said speaking with Cycling Ireland afterwards.
“It was really hard with the climb, I had to dig in. On the third lap five of us came over the top — it was very difficult for me, I had to really hang in and do what I could do.
“At the end I had to go for the sprint and play to my strengths — I knew I’d maybe get there in the end.”
“It was such a strong group,” she added. “To be over in Mallorca training with them was just amazing. They are super girls and Irish cycling at the minute, for women, is just so strong. It’s on a different level altogether.
“For me to be in the middle of all that, I’m just delighted. I have been waiting for this for so long, and I will wear that jersey with pride.”
Piloting for Katie-George Dunlevy since 2013, the pair enjoyed major success together at the 2016 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup in Ostend, claiming gold in both the time trial and the road race.
In March McCrystal and Dunlevy claimed a bronze medal in the Women’s B Tandem 3km Individual Pursuit at the UCI 2018 Para-cycling Track World Championships.
McCrystal also secured a gold medal in the 1km time-trial B and a silver in the road race during the 2016 Summer Paralympics together with Dunlevy.
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