Eddie Dunbar And Fiona Mangan Crowned Time Trial National Champions 


Eddie Dunbar in action in the Elite Men's Time Trial


Eddie Dunbar and Fiona Mangan were crowned Elite Time Trial National Champions on Thursday, June 20th, as Newcastle West Cycling Club played host to the 2024 Road National Championships. 


Ireland’s road racing elite descend on Co. Limerick this week for the busiest weekend of the road calendar, kicking off with the Time Trial National Championships. 


All able-bodied categories took on a tough 36.3km route featuring long uphill drags on narrow roads, starting and finishing in the village of Athea. Para-cycling riders took on a similar route over a 25.7km course. 


In the Elite Men’s Time Trial, Eddie Dunbar and Ryan Mullen were neck and neck throughout, but it was Dunbar who proved strongest in the final run-in to Athea, posting a time just fifteen seconds quicker than his UCI World Tour compatriot as George Peden completed the podium.  


Dunbar has seen injuries hamper his 2024 season and admitted that the victory meant a lot to him and will give him renewed confidence for the remainder of the year. He said:  


“I needed that just to know the legs are there after all the mishaps this year – to get a national jersey is massive. I’ve the full set now between Junior, U23 and Elite so that’s nice and I’m just delighted. I’ll go into Sunday (Elite Men’s Road Race) with no expectations and hopefully I’ve the same legs as today.” 


Fiona Mangan was over the moon after taking her first Elite Women’s National Title. Returning to home roads, the Cynisca rider set a blistering time to best Annalise Murphy in an exciting battle for gold as Roisin Thomas took bronze. Mangan said: 


“I live close by and managed to get out last week and do the course a bit. I really trusted my recon of it and went as fast as I could. It’s so special and such a relief as well because I’ve worked so hard, and I just want to thank everyone that’s helped me throughout the years – this means more to them as well. It’s just so nice to wear the Irish national champion’s jersey.” 


Adam Rafferty made it two national titles in a row as he added the Under 23 national title to the Junior title he claimed last year. The Hagens Berman Jayco rider has been tied up with studies in recent months while training hard for the Road National Championships. 


In an Under 23 Men’s race stacked with exciting riders, Rafferty’s blistering time saw him finish over thirty seconds ahead of Dean Harvey in second place and a minute and twelve seconds clear of Liam O’Brien in third.  


In the Para-cycling categories, Declan Slevin and Allister MacSorley did battle in the H class Hand-cycling Time Trial as Slevin took the victory with Ray Murnane completing the podium. 


Ronan Grimes was once again the strongest in the C-class as William Clifford took silver and Richael Timothy earned a bronze medal. The Tandem Time Trial saw Josephine Healion and Linda Kelly set the winning time, the Ireland National Team duo took gold ahead of Damien Vereker and Marcin Mizgajski as Jessica Kennedy and Jennifer Bates finished in third.  


In the Junior Time Trials, Conor Murphy put in a fine performance to edge out Seth Dunwoody and Patrick Casey in a talented Junior Men’s podium. In the Junior Women, Lucy Bénézet Minns, made it two titles in a row with a dominant performance. Her Tofauti Everyone Active teammate Aliyah Rafferty claimed second place while Kate Murphy completed the podium.  



Results  


Elite Men 

1. Eddie Dunbar 

2. Ryan Mullen 

3. George Peden 

 

Elite Women 

1. Fiona Mangan 

2. Annalise Murphy 

3. Roisin Thomas 


U23 Men 

1. Adam Rafferty 

2. Dean Harvey 

3. Liam O’Brien 


Junior Men 

1. Conor Murphy 

2. Seth Dunwoody 

3. Patrick Casey 


Junior Women 

1. Lucy Bénézet Minns 

2. Aliyah Rafferty 

3. Kate Murphy 


Para-cycling H Division (Factored) 

1. Declan Slevin 

2. Allister MacSorley 

3. Ray Murnane 


Para-cycling C Division (Factored) 

1. Ronan Grimes 

2. William Clifford 

3. Richael Timothy 


Para-cycling Tandem Division (Factored) 

1. Josephine Healion & Linda Kelly 

2. Damien Vereker & Marcin Mizgajski 

3. Jessica Kennedy & Jennifer Bates 



Full results are available here.