Last Saturday the inaugural L’Étape Ireland brought 1800 cyclists to the Emerald Isle as part of the L’Etape by Tour de France worldwide amateur cycling series. The event started and finished in Killarney town centre with riders racing on either a 135km or 98km route, both showcasing Ireland’s fabulous green countryside and steep mountain passes.
The overall winner of was John Dowley (THE CYCOLOGIST CLONMEL RACING TEAM) who finished the 135km gran fondo in 3:36:02, just ahead of Team Bikeworx Cellbridge teammates Karl Smyth and Erwin Vos eight seconds in arrears.
Sara McGeough won the women’s gran fondo in 4:09:36, with Hillary Hughes and Amy Young next in 4:11:13 and 4:17:49 respectively.
Former 2x Tour de France stage winner Dan Martin, 38, finished in a leisurely 5:27:36.
The 98km medio fondo saw Barry Kelly (DB CYCLING CLUB) win in 3:00:08 for the men and Regina Sheehan do the same in 3:33:29 for the women.
Queen of the Mountain title went to Ronnie Barry (CLONAKILTY CYCLING CLUB), with Milo Donaldson (KILLARNEY CYCLING CLUB) winning the King of the Mountain.
Photo Credit: Instagram/cigalacycling
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