Local rider Mia Griffin successfully defended her lead at the top of the Rás na mBan General Classification in Kilkenny City this afternoon, becoming the first Irish rider to win the race since Olivia Dillon in 2013.
The Kilkenny native, recently returned from competing on the track in a first Olympic Games in Paris, finished safely in the bunch behind stage winner and teammate Lucy Lee to secure the overall victory.
Stage 5 time trial winner Noor Dekker of JEGG-DJR Academy finished second on the Stage 6 criterium, ahead of Canadian Anabelle Thomas (Primeau Vélo Groupe Abadie) in third.
Dekker's result elevated her to second overall, just six seconds down on Griffin after over 11 hours of racing. Fellow Dutch rider and 2023 champion Manon de Boer rounded out the podium in third place at 11 seconds.
The hectic final stage circuit race took place around a 2.1 kilometre lap, starting and finishing outside Kilkenny Castle and consisting of just over an hour’s racing. A seemingly endless stream of attacks and counter-attacks ensued, with Team Ireland particularly active in front of one of the largest crowds of spectators ever seen at Rás na mBan.
Áine Doherty was the first of the Irish team to launch a move, followed separately by strong attacks from Aliyah Rafferty and Lucy Benezet-Minns, who managed to stay away solo for several laps.
Benezet-Minns’s venture out front allowed her to take the three bonus seconds at the Intermediate Sprint, with sisters Caoimhe O’Brien (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK) and Aoife O’Brien (Team Ireland) continuing the week-long theme of placing in sprints to take the remaining two and one bonus seconds available.
Just when it all looked set for a sprint finish, the trio of Lee, Dekker and Thomas broke clear with two laps remaining, working well together to open up a margin of 11 seconds. With Lee in the break, the DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK team, who dominated so much of the week, were under no obligation to contribute to the chase behind, assisting the leaders to stay clear of the peloton to fight out the podium places.
Lee, who spent much of the week in the IVCA Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains jersey before de Boer wrestled control of it yesterday, sprinted clear of Dekker to claim a fourth stage victory for the DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK team, with Thomas following a couple of seconds behind in third.
Meanwhile in the chasing peloton behind, a last ditch bid by de Boer to force a split in the peloton proved unsuccessful, and Griffin was able to finish safely in the bunch to secure the overall title.
The result caps a remarkably successful week for Griffin, who finishes with two stage wins, the Cycling Ireland Points Classification, the Kilkenny County Council Best Irish Rider, and the Rás na mBan General Classification win after wearing the magenta jersey every day following her opening stage victory.
Caoimhe O’Brien finished as Sport Ireland Best Young Rider, having also held the white jersey from the first stage through to the conclusion of the race. DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK’s strength in depth was rewarded with the Best Team Classification prize, with UCD Cycling Club ending the week with the Paddy Doran Best Irish Team.
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