Paralympic champions Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly added another gold to their 2024 haul on Sunday, winning the women’s B individual time-trial at cycling’s road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland.
The duo smashed their rivals on the undulating 29.9km course, completing the distance 1:09.7 quicker than Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl. A second British duo, Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall, were at 1:38.44 back in third.
Irish riders Josephine Healion and Eve McCrystal took a very solid fourth.
The victory by Dunlevy and Kelly sees them successfully defend the world title they took in Dumfries in August 2023.
“We really enjoyed the course,” said Dunlevy. “There were uphill and downhill sections so we knew, based on our race in Paris, that we would get time hopefully on the hills. We had to go over on our power on the hills and just really deliver a good solid ride. We’re delighted.
“You have to just attack each bit that you’re on, not think too far ahead when it comes to the time-trial.”
Kelly pilots visually-impaired rider Dunlevy, and plays a key role in picking the right lines through corners in order to maximise speed while maintaining safety. She could see that they were closing on big rivals Unwin and Holl during the time-trial and drew encouragement from that.
“Towards the last seven, eight kilometres we passed the British bike. It was such a nice feeling.”
They are next up in the women’s road race on Wednesday, and will hope to repeat their victory of last year. Healion and McCrystal will also be in action, with the latter due to retire from international competition afterwards.
She partnered Dunlevy for many years, clocking up multiple world titles and three golds, plus two silver medals, in the Paracycling Games.
The quartet are the only paracycling riders among Ireland’s 24-strong squad at the UCI road and paracycling world championships.
Ireland had no competitors in the elite men’s and women’s time-trials on Sunday.
On Monday, Seth Dunwoody and Conor Murphy line out in the junior time-trial, while the brothers Darren and Adam Rafferty compete in the under-23 equivalent. Aliyah Rafferty and Lucy Bénézet Minns will then contest the junior women’s time-trial on Tuesday. Bénézet Minns was a superb fourth last year.
The road races will take place later in the week. Following the paracycling tandem road race on Wednesday, the junior men and women will be in action on Thursday, with the under 23 men racing on Friday. The latter group will include Darren Rafferty, who took a fine fifth in the time-trial last year, and who recently competed in the Vuelta a España.
Sisters Caoimhe and Aoife O’Brien join with national champion Fiona Mangan in the elite women’s road race on Saturday, while double Vuelta a España stage winner Eddie Dunbar, Ben Healy, Archie Ryan and Conn McDunphy are the Irish riders in the elite men’s road race next Sunday.
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