Conor Murphy is motoring against the clock, doing another 17-minute time for the 10 mile distance, not for the first time this season (Photo: Toby Watson)
Irish cycling perhaps has a deeper pool of talent at junior and U23 level than ever and two of the juniors ripping it up against the clock this year – Conor Murphy and Aliyah Rafferty – have posted very impressive peformances again.
Murphy (Caldwell Cycles) equalled the Irish senior record for the 10 mile TT distance earlier this year – matching Ryan Mullen’s record of 17:42 – and he has now recorded another 17-minute time for the distance.
Rafferty (Tofauti Everyone Active Majoco) also posted one of the fastest times ever recorded by an Irish junior, clocking a time of 21:36. That was just 14 seconds off the 21:22 she set 12 months ago, which is the junior national record.
Murphy and Rafferty were again competing on the Frosses course in Ballymena, the fastest 10 mile course in the country where they have set their fastest times.
Aliyah Rafferty is already the Irish junior 10 mile TT record holder, and the Irish junior champion, and she went close to her record last night (Photo: Toby Watson)
The two juniors were the winners of the men’s and women’s combined categories at the Ernie Magwood Super Six Series last night, seeing off all of the elites on the night.
In the women’s race, Rafferty took the victory ahead of Eileen Burns (Ballymena CC), who clocked a time of 21:45. Hazel Smyth (Kinning Cycles) rounded out the women’s podum in a time of 22:40.
In the men’s race, Murphy’s time of 17:51 was nine seconds off the fastest 10 mile TT time ever recorded in Ireland – by Murphy earlier this and by Mullen back in 2014.
Ian Inglis (Kinning Cycles) was 2nd in the men’s event last night, with a time of 18:16, while Paul Kennedy (Team Skyline) put out another quality time, 18:42.