Mia Griffin and Alice Sharpe pulled out a standout result at the end of the UCI Track Nations Cup in Milton, Canada, on Sunday, taking the bronze medal in the women’s Madison competition.
The duo raced strongly throughout the event and clocked up 29 points, putting them on the podium with winners Elisa Balsamo and Chiara Consonni of Italy and runners-up Alexandra Manly and Chloe Moran of Australia.
Balsamo is the current world road race champion while Consonni is a multiple junior and under 23 gold medallist at the track world championships and European track championships.
The results follows on from Sharpe and Emily Kay’s seventh place in the Madison in last month’s Nations Cup in Glasgow. They had crashed in the event but recovered to take that placing.
Sunday’s bronze medal sees Ireland jump up to third in the overall Nations Cup standings for the Madison. The third and final Nations Cup meet of the season will be held in Cali, Colombia, in early July.
Previously known as the Track World Cup, the Nations Cup are cycling’s biggest track races outside the Olympics and world championships. The bronze medal by Griffin and Sharpe represents a very strong performance by a country which still lacks an indoor velodrome, and is a big boost for Ireland’s track racing programme.
