Andy’s king of the roads
AFTER A string of strong results and near misses, Andy Maguire from Barntown won the Leinster road race championships in dramatic fashion in Dundalk on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Business student attacked solo from the line to catch and pass all the other groups on the road over the 80 km. course.
It looked as if it was all over with four km. to go when he was joined by a strong group of four chasers, however Maguire managed to muster enough strength to put in one final attack just two km. from the line which saw him hold on to take the title.
The Gerard-DHL sponsored team rider saw off Liam Curley (Nicolas Roche Performance Team) and Ronan McDonnell (Dublin Wheelers) who rounded out the podium.
‘I’m delighted with the win. I’ve been training specifically for this for the last month or so and putting in a lot of work,’ he said.
‘I thought it was all over when I got caught but I just buried myself to make one final attack. The plan is to take a few weeks off now and then put the head down again for next year.’
Looking to the future, Maguire hopes to ride Ireland’s biggest race, the eigh-day Rás Tailteann, and potentially break into the Irish team.
‘Next year the big ambition is to ride the Rás. There are plenty of strong guys on my team though, so competition for places will be tight. Putting on the Irish colours is also a big goal in the next couple of years.’
Fellow Wexford rider Frank Dunne also featured prominently in the race, placing third in the vets’ category. Dunne, also a former Rás Tailteann rider, added this result to a strong fourth at the Mountnugent GP in Cavan last month.