Cycling Round Up |
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Archives: October - November 2000 BLOW TO TEAM OF POWER, SCANLON: (Nov 27) Hopes of a Linda McCartney team start in next year’s Tour de France were dashed today with the news that high-profile American rider Kevin Livingston would not be joining, as previously announced. Livingston, who helped fellow countryman Lance Armstrong secure victory in the past two editions of the race, has instead opted for a two year contract with the Telecom team of Jan Ullrich. The news will come as a blow to Irish riders Ciaran Power and Mark Scanlon, who will line out for the vegetarian outfit next season, as it will reduce the team’s chances of chasing first division status next year. Livingston had previously been touted as their star rider for 2001, and his presence was seen as a valuable bargaining tool to secure invitations to major races such as the Tour de France and Tour of Spain.
Indeed the tone of today’s meeting spurred Lawless to his decision, with the congress punctuated by heavy debate and disagreements which made it clear that any attempts at a reconciliation were going to be fraught with difficulty. Vice presidents Tommy Campbell and Jack Watson – who both retain their positions on an otherwise unchanged board – will take over duties until a replacement for Lawless is co-opted. Although the outgoing president clearly had difficulties in his position, it was indicated by many present that they felt he can still offer much to the sport. Lawless plays an active role in the Tallaght-based Usher Irish Road Club, and has also been heavily involved in assisting the running of races around the country. ‘You will see me back there next year helping out’, he vowed. ‘Nothing has changed. I gave it my best shot but it didn’t work out and that is that.’ Meanwhile, a motion was also passed to allow five other, as yet undetermined, individuals from the world of business and/or sporting administration to join the board. While this quintet will not have voting rights, it is anticipated that they will facilitate the smooth working of the ICF and help the governing body address the twin problems of falling membership and a projected budget deficit of some £32,000 for this year. The five are expected to be named within two weeks, as is a new president. Also due for discussion is the post of national team director which was vacated today by Richie Beatty, who indicated that he was going to withdraw completely from cycling. Most likely is that a high performance group will be appointed, which will in turn appoint managers to oversee the various groups of athletes concerned. ‘I would envisage a manager for each group, in other words to oversee senior riders, juniors, mountainbike and ladies’, said coaching chairman Paddy Doran. ‘I would hope that this would make the whole system more open and smoother-working. We have to build towards a system of bringing through new riders and getting the most out of our cyclists’, he stated. OBITUARY: PADDY FLANAGAN: (Nov 23) Irish cycling was yesterday mourning the sudden death of former top cyclist Paddy Flanagan at 61 years of age. He was one of the most successful riders of his time, taking a slew of national championship medals on road, grass track, and in time trials and also competing abroad for Ireland on many occasions. A former member of the NCF, Paddy Flanagan is probably best remembered for his dominating performances over two decades in the Rás Tailteann. He won a total of 11 stages between 1960 and 1976 and took overall victory three times. He proved best in 1960 and 1964, then turned back the clock in 1975 to reclaim the winner’s yellow jersey at the age of 36. ‘I couldn’t say words high enough to praise him’, says another multiple Rás winner Shay O Hanlon. ‘We had a funny relationship, battling for 20 years, but the more we clashed the more we grew to like each other. He was one of those guys who was always having a go. Up until the last race he rode, he was a very aggressive rider; always attacking, but very cute and full of tricks too. Basically, a great cyclist and a decent fellow.’ Paddy Flanagan worked as a builder’s labourer after his retirement from Irish Ropes, and also continued to cycle up until his death. He is survived by his wife Alice, sons Pat and Peter and daughters Caroline, Jan, Betsy and Susan. He will be buried today after 2.00 mass at St. Brigid’s church, Kildare.
‘It is a difficult decision to make’, admits Murphy, who was lapped in the Sydney road race after being caught behind a crash and suffering a puncture. ‘I always said that I’d retire after the Olympics so I am sticking to that. I would like to stay involved in the sport; I’m coming over at the end of the month for the OCI athletes commission meeting, and will decide what to do then.’ Meanwhile, it has been announced that Murphy’s fellow Olympian Ciaran Power will kick off next season in Australia, riding the Tour Down Under from January 16th – 21st. Linda McCartney teammate Mark Scanlon makes his professional debut the following month in the Tour of Langkawi, while Aidan Duff has been offered a in the new French Elite 2 set-up, 23 La Creuse, which will be managed by former world champion Luc Leblanc. Mountain bikers Robin Seymour and Tarja Owens are plan to be based abroad in 2001, either in Europe or America, although both are still in negotiations with teams. After victories last weekend the duo continue the cyclo-cross theme in Saturday’s event at Craigavon Lakes. NO CONFIDENCE VOTE POINTS TOWARDS HEATED AGM: (Oct 27) As the temperature drops and racing bikes are stored away until next year, the emphasis shifts to the forthcoming AGM of the Irish Cycling Federation on November 25th. Always threatening to be a volatile affair, this year’s convening of club and board looks set to be particularly confrontational after a recent vote of no confidence in president Mick Lawless, and the ongoing tension between national team director Richie Beatty and some members of the board. Many argue politics and sport shouldn’t mix, but on many occasions this year disharmony and argument have prevented the smooth running of the ICF. Indeed there have been no board meetings since the vote of no confidence in Lawless on August 26th, details of which were communicated to club secretaries in a letter at the beginning of this month. According to the communiqué, all bar one of the eight board members present at the August 26th meeting supported the vote of no-confidence, namely Paddy Doran, Liam Leahy, Ciaran McKenna, Sean O’Callaghan, Peter Purfield, Peter Thornton and Jack Watson. Absent member Maurice Murphy later expressed his support for the action, while Tommy Campbell was the sole supporter of Lawless. In the letter, 12 reasons were given for the dissatisfaction with the new president, mainly dealing with the appointment of the Olympic team manager and second official, but also criticising Lawless for a ‘lack of leadership (leading to) little or no control at meetings. The letter also states that the Dubliner has ‘no views on what the policy or strategy of the Federation should be’. According to Ciaran McKenna, acting PRO and signatory of the letter, ‘the board basically feels that the president has not acted professionally and competently, and has often gone against board decisions when he should supported us.’ However, when contacted yesterday Lawless refuted the criticisms. ‘I am very disappointed that they took this action (sending the letter) and also in taking the vote of no confidence’, he said, ‘because it serves no purpose whatsoever. A lot of the points are really, really petty, and some of them have been dragged up after they have been settled.’ Disputing the board’s position on many of the points raised, Lawless stated that he feels he is being criticised for having an approach which doesn’t always echo that of the letter’s signatories. ‘I am being singled out because I my own point of view regarding how things should be done’, he says. ‘But I have dealt with each and every one of the points raised in a letter which I am in the process of circulating, and this will clarify my position.’ Lawless indicated that he is determined to continue as president, stating that he ‘is doing the job to the best of my abilities.’ However, with no board meetings since late August, the net result of the impasse is that this year’s Annual General Meeting will be more highly strung than ever. Transparency and accountability are needed by all involved; no better reason for a strong club attendance on November 25th. FESTINA TRIAL STARTS TODAY: (Oct 23) The controversy of the drug-dogged 1998 Tour de France will today resurface, with the commencement of a trial investigating doping in the race. Lille prosecutor Patrick Keil has worked for two years to compile 14 dossiers - comprising 5,800 pages – and today beings a trial featuring former Festina employees Willy Voet, Bruno Roussel and champion cyclist Richard Virenque. Seven other individuals are also under investigation in the high profile trial, which is expected to last three weeks. The trial has come at a bad time for Tour de France star Richard Virenque, who is struggling to find a team for next year. The Frenchman has always maintained his innocence, in spite of evidence and testimonies which suggested otherwise, but now anything other than a complete vindication may consign his career to the scrapheap. What's worse, a guilty verdict could earn him a two year prison sentence. DISAPPOINTMENT FOR IRISH IN WORLD UNDER 23 CHAMPS: (Oct 15) With Mark Scanlon in excellent end of season form and David O’Loughlin placing tenth in the under 23 time trial earlier this week, the Irish duo went into today’s world under 23 road race championships in Plouay, Brittany with high hopes of success. But there was to be no joy for the quintet of Scanlon, O’Loughlin, Dermot Nally and Stephen Gallagher at the end of the 170 kilometre race – Scanlon pulled out with two laps remaining, fatigued from a recent guest slot with the Linda McCartney team in the professional ranks, while O’Loughlin was prominent throughouth, but was caught behind a crash and finished at the rear of the main field. It was a tough race for the other two Irish riders, but for very different reasons. Stephen Gallagher fell on the 6th lap and was forced to pull out, while Dermot Nally worked hard for Scanlon and O’Loughlin and lost contact with the bunch in the second half of the race. The gold medal was won by Russian Evgeni Petrov, who broke clear alone in the closing stages and held off Ukranian Yaroslav Popovych and Lorenzo Bernucci of Italy, who took silver and bronze respectively 4 seconds later. Stahurskaia wins gold in women’s road-race, Gill crashes out: (Oct 14) Belarussian cyclist Zinaida Stahurskaia today took gold in the 127 kilometre Elite Women’s Road-race Championships in Plouay, France, while Ireland’s Geraldine Gill withdrew after being involved in an early race crash. Gill tangled with another competitor, remounted, but elected not to continue shortly afterwards when it became clear that she would not be able to catch the main field. Home favourite Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli failed in her bid to win a 12th World Championships title, pulling into the pits in the closing stages as Stahurskaia built an unassailable lead. At the end of over three and a half hours of racing she crossed the line alone one minute and twenty seconds clear of Dutch woman Chantal Beltman, herself twenty-three seconds ahead of the main bunch which was led home by Madeline Linberg of Sweden. CASSIDY BEST OF IRISH IN JUNIOR ROAD RACE: (Oct 14) Tim Cassidy overcame mechanical problems to finish best of the 4 man Irish team in today’s junior road race world championships. Cassidy broke part of his pedal during the race, but was able to continue and finished 62nd, coming home in a large group which crossed the line 32 seconds behind winner Jeremy Yates of New Zealand. Although Russian Vladimir Goussev sprinted home second, a bike which clashed with the regulations earned his disqualification, leaving Italian Antonio Bicciero to take silver ahead of Alexandr Arekeev of Russia. Of the other Irish, national champion Colin Armstrong was delayed behind a crash and pulled out of the race, while Michael Dennehy experienced problems with his bike and lost contact with the bunch as a result. Both Dennehy (128th)and Philip Deignan (94th) – who was also delayed behind a crash - completed the 127 kilometre event. Geraldine Gill lines out this afternoon in the Elite women’s road race, where Frenchwoman Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli will be vying to win her 12th world championship title on home soil. EVANS 3rd ON LAST STAGE OF HERALD SUN TOUR - POWER FINISHES 9th OVERALL: (Oct 15) After a strong campaign which netted the Irish team one stage win and well over a dozen top ten placings, Tommy Evans capped off the squad’s performance in the world ranked Herald Sun Tour by taking third place on the final stage. Evans finished the 44 km Geelong criterium in the same time as Australian winner Jamie Drew, with Ciaran Power finishing safely in the main pack to end the race an impressive 9th overall. The best-ever Irish display has earned a clutch of valuable world ranking points for the team, who can also boast a one-two-three (Aidan Duff, David McCann and Evans) in the most aggressive rider category. Evans was also 4th in the sprints competition, while Power finished second in the criterium classification. POWER 5TH ON
STAGE 14 OF HERALD SUN TOUR: ( Oct 14) Despite complaining of fatigue before the start of the
penultimate leg of the 15 stage Herald Sun Tour, Ciaran Power recorded another
high placing on one of the hardest legs of the race today. The 24 year old Linda
McCartney professional overcame driving rain and treacherous conditions to place
5th on the hilly 188 kilometre stage to Apollo Bay, crossing the line in a
select group which came home 21 seconds down on winner Bart Heirewegh of
Belgium. With just a short 44 kilometre criterium in Geelong tomorrow,
Power is a good ninth in the overall standings, 5 minutes and 20 seconds behind
yellow jersey Eugen Wacker. Today’s placing marks his 10th top ten finish in
the event, a remarkably consistent performance at the end of a testing first
season in the professional ranks. POWER BOUNCES BACK: (2nd Stage Oct 12) After slipping to ninth overall in this morning’s 25 kilometre time trial, Ciaran Power narrowly missed out on winning stage 12 of the Herald Sun Tour today. In a thrilling sprint finish at the end of the 21 kilometre Bendigo criterium Power was pipped to the line by specialist Dave McCook of the USA, finishing second on the stage and taking his ninth top ten finish of the race. With three stages remaining, Power has narrowed the gap slightly on overall leader Eric Wohlberg, and is currently 2 minutes 53 seconds off the lead in eighth place. The world-ranked race continues tomorrow with an undulating 148 kilometre stage to Ballarat, although Saturday’s tough leg to Apollo Bay would seem to afford Power the best hope of reducing his deficit. Power remains in second place in the criterium classification after today’s street race in Bendigo. POWER SLIPS TO NINTH: (Oct 12) Ciaran Power’s chances of winning the Herald Sun Tour suffered a serious blow today when the Waterford cyclist lost almost three minutes to race leader Eric Wohlberg on the 11th stage, a 25 km time trial. Wohlberg, a five times Canadian national time trial champion and Commonwealth games gold medallist was always regarded as favourite for the stage against the clock, and today’s display consolidated his position at the top of the leaderboard. Power finished a distant 18th on the stage and has slipped to 9th overall, 3 minutes and 5 seconds off Wohlberg’s overall lead. 'Ciaran was hoping to do a good ride today', said team manager PJ Nolan, 'but Wohlberg averaged 50 kph in the time trial and it is very hard to deal with that.' However, the fact that Power conceeded time to so many others will reinforce the need for the first year professional to improve his time trialling ability. Four stages remain in the world ranked event,including a criterium race later today and the Irish cyclist has set his sights on trying to recoup his losses and to win a stage before the Australian Tour finishes this Sunday. Earlier this week Aidan Duff won the eighth leg of the race and each of the Irish quintet are highly motivated to top the podium in this, their last race of the year. Aidan Duff and David McCann continue to lead the classification for most aggressive rider, and also hold third and fourth place respectively in the mountains competition, plus second (McCann) and third (Duff) in the sprints ranking. Power is second in the criterium classification, while the Irish Latrobe city-sponsored team is third overall of the 16 in the race. WORLD JUNIOR TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: (Oct 11) In the world junior (under 18) time trial championships today in Plouay, France, Irish cyclists Philip Duignan and Tim Cassidy placed 44th and 46th respectively. The riders, both first year juniors, finished over three minutes adrift of gold medallist Peter Mazur of Poland. English rider Kieran Page, who won the Irish Junior Tour earlier this summer, was a good 12th. Duignan and Cassidy will ride the 127 kilometre road race on Saturday, together with Ireland team-mates Michael Dennehy and Colin Armstrong. Two years ago Mark Scanlon won the junior title; having missed out on the world championships last year through injury, the promising 20 year old lines out in Friday’s under 23 road race with high hopes of taking a medal. David O’Loughlin – who was a fine 10th in yesterday’s time trial – Keith Gallagher and Dermot Nally complete the under 23 Irish team. POWER INCHES CLOSER TO YELLOW JERSEY: ( Oct 11) Ciaran Power’s remarkable Herald Sun Tour performance continued today when the Waterford cyclist recorded his eighth top ten finish in the world-ranked race. Power sprinted home 7th on the 189 kilometre 10th stage to Echuca-Moama, characterised by a successful three-rider breakaway, from which Poland's Dariusz Skoczylas emerged to take the victory. Power's team-mate Eugene Moriarty was tenth. In the overall standings, Power remains in second place but has inched closer to the yellow jersey of Canada’s Mark Wohlberg due a three second time bonus scooped along the way. He is now just 12 seconds off the lead in the Australian race, although most expect tomorrow’s 25 kilometer time trial to favour race leader Wohlberg. However, the remaining four stages will afford Power a great chance of taking his biggest career victory to date. Aidan Duff and David McCann continue to hold first and second respectively in the aggressive rider competition. McCann has lost the lead in the sprints classification to British rider Dan Smith, who was third today but collected a clutch of points in the intermediate sprints. O’LOUGHLIN TENTH IN WORLD UNDER 23 TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP: (Oct 10) David O’Loughlin today finished an impressive tenth in the world under 23 time trial championships in Plouay, France, covering the 35.2 kilometre course two minutes 38 seconds adrift of winner Evgeni Petrov of Russia. The result is a tremendous boost to the prospects of the young Mayo cyclist, and may be enough to secure him a pro contract for next season. ‘It is a tremendous performance by David’, enthuses national team director Richie Beatty. ‘He wouldn’t be an out and out time trialist, but for guts and tenacity he is right up there. This performance sets him, and the rest of the team, up nicely for the road race and will also ensure that he gets a good Sports Council grant for next season. O’Loughlin, together with 1998 world junior champion Mark Scanlon plus team-mates Dermot Nally and Keith Gallagher will contest the under 23 road race on Friday. O’Loughlin and Scanlon are both in excellent end-of-season form, and are aiming to take a medal in the 170 kilometre race. POWER THIRD ON
STAGE, NOW SECOND OVERALL: (Oct
10) Following Aidan Duff’s win yesterday, Ciaran Power today registered yet
another strong performance for the Irish team when he placed third on today’s
9th stage of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia. More crucially, Power’s placing
– his seventh top ten finish of the race - and the resulting time bonus means
that he has leaped to second overall, just 15 seconds behind race leader Eric
Wohlberg of Canada with six stages remaining. David McCann and Aidan Duff
are first and second respectively in the sprints classification, while the same
two also dominate the most aggressive rider stakes, with Duff marginally
ahead. Power will continue in his bid to win the world ranked race
tomorrow, when the riders face a 189 kilometre road stage to Nioania. The 24
year old Linda McCartney cyclist has moved closer to the yellow jersey as the
race progressed, but will need to perform to his maximum in Thursday’s 25
kilometre time trial if he is to stand a chance of taking the biggest win of his
career. DUFF WINS STAGE 8 OF SUN TOUR: (By Shane Stokes Oct 9) Dundrum cyclist Aidan Duff today took the biggest win of his racing career today when he soloed to a superb stage victory in the Herld Sun Tour in Australia. The 24 year old went clear with Irish team-mate Ciaran Power and 8 others shortly after the start of the 91 kilometre stage, forged clear alone with 50 kilometers to go and rode exceptionally to eke out a 51 second winning margin by the end of the stage. 'A few of us went clear from the gun', said Duff afterwards, 'and there was a lot of attacking from the group. The fourth placed rider overall was there, so people didn't really want to work together. There was constant jumping around instead, so I waited until things settled down then attacked the group.' 'I was kind of hoping that one or two riders would come up to me, but the gap opened on my own and I just put my head down and went for it. It is great, this is the biggest win I have had.' Behind, Power sprinted home strongly to take third place and has now moved to 6th overall, ominously reducing the gap to overall leader Eric Wohlberg of Canada to just 25 seconds. Confidence is running high in the Irish camp – Duff and Power also placed 4th and 7th respectively in this morning’s 7th stage, each of the five Irish riders has registered top ten placings this week and David McCann leads the sprints competition from Duff. Both also hold the first two spots in the aggressive rider category, with Duff leading after today’s effort. What’s more, the riders remain convinced that more stage wins are in the tank before the October 15th end of the race, and more importantly, that Ciaran Power has real prospects of winning the world-ranked event. 'The guys are riding really strongly at the moment', states team manager PJ Nolan. 'They are all flying and I think that they can get more stages yet. Ciaran is going really well too - he did all the work in the closing stages on the climb yesterday and I really think that he can take the yellow jersey in the next few days.' POWER JUMPS TO 7th OVERALL: (Oct 8) On what was regarded as the hardest stage of the Herald Sun Tour, Irish cyclist Ciaran Power rode strongly today over 9 classified climbs to finish a fine 9th and jump from 14th to 7th on the general classification. The Waterford rider has moved to within 47 seconds of the yellow jersey, now held by Canadian Eric Wohlberg, with 8 stages remaining in the Australian race. Power’s fellow Olympian David McCann is next best of the Irish quintet in 16th place overall, 5 minutes and seven seconds behind the yellow jersey of Wohlberg. McCann, however, has targeted other competitions; after today’s stage he has moved into the lead in the sprints classification and is also third in the king of the mountains ranking. The race continues tomorrow with a split stage in Victoria, taking in a criterium in Bright and a 90 kilometre road stage. RESULTS:
Stage 4: 1 John Lieswyn (USA)
1 hour 11 mins 24 secs; 2, J. Hunt (Great Britain); Irish: 3, T. Evans; 6,
Ciaran Power at 3 secs; 19, David McCann; 42, Aidan Duff, both same time; 77,
Eugene Moriarty at 4 mins 58 secs IRISH CONTINUE WELL IN SUN TOUR: (Oct 7) Day three of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia, and the Irish quintet continues to ride well. 1999 national champion Tommy Evans broke clear with two other riders in the closing miles of the washed-out 49 kilometre 4th stage to Korumburra and was third in the sprint to the line, while team-mate Ciaran Power took sixth. Then, in the afternoon’s second stage Olympian David McCann made a brave bid for victory as he raced clear alone. However the Belfast cyclist was recaptured with just 5 kilometers to go, paving the way for a bunch sprint in which Eugene Moriarty was 4th and Power 7th. Evans is best placed of the Irish overall in 5th place, one minute and 7 seconds behind Australian Henk Vogels. He is also up to second in the mountains classification, a valuable boost before tomorrow’s toughest stage of the race which takes in nine climbs. POWER 3rd ON STAGE 2: (Oct 6) Irish cyclist Ciaran Power today placed an excellent third on the second stage of the Herald Sun Tour in Australia, sprinting home at the head of a main bunch which finished in the same time as winner Baden Cooke. Power then finished with the main field on the following 107 kilometre leg to Wonthaggi and is currently 10th overall, one minute 18 seconds behind yellow jersey Henk Vogels. Former national champion Tommy Evans is next best of the Irish in 17th place, having improved his overall position when he finished 8th on the third stage. The race continues tomorrow with two more split stages, a 49 kilometre leg to Korumburra and a 91 kilometre race to Traralgon. The world ranked tour finishes on October 15th. POWER 12TH ON OPENING STAGE OF SUN TOUR: Olympians David McCann and Ciaran Power today began their last assignement of the year, the world ranked Herald Suntour race in Australia. Power was best placed of the Irish on the 32 kilometre opening criterium stage, sprinting home in 12th place, 24 seconds behind leading duo Henk Vogels and Eric Wohlberg. Aidan Duff was next best of the Irish quintet in 14th place, with David McCann 18th, Tommy Evans 29th and Eugene Moriarty 52nd. Duff is best placed overall in 11th, having picked up time in the bonus sprints. The race continues tomorrow with a criterium in Frankston, and continues until October 15th. SCANLON RIDES WELL IN PRO RACE: In the first event of his guest slot with the professional Linda McCartney team, Mark Scanlon performed encouragingly in the Circuit Franco-Belge stage race. The former world junior champion - who was the youngest rider in the field - placed 60th, 59th, 44th and 49th on stages of the world-ranked event. Of the 108 riders who lined out in the three day tour, Scanlon finished a solid 42nd overall in this, his first competition within the professional ranks. Most in the sport feel that he is set for a highly impressive pro career, and at just 19 years of age, this latest showing indicates he should have few problems finding his feet when he turns professional next spring. IRISH COMPLETE OLYMPIC PARTICIPATION: And so it ends. The time trial medals remain to be disputed, but the Irish participation in the cycling events in Sydney have come to a close. So how should we judge their performances? Realistically, can be the only answer. First mountain biking: Going into the games Robin Seymour and Tarja Owens were best qualified to predict their finishing positions, given that cross country racing is less dependant on tactics than on pure strength. The variables that exist in road racing simply are not present; the fact that Seymour and Owens have competed against most of their rivals in the past also enabled them to better approximate their own strengths relative to the world's best. <Full Olympic Report Here> |
ICF AGM; LAWLESS
RESIGNS AS PRESIDENT: (Nov 25) Twelve
months after he was elected president of the Irish Cycling Federation, Mick
Lawless today dramatically resigned his post at their Annual General meeting in
Malahide. Lawless, whose term was due to continue until 2001, finally gave in to
pressure after months of tension and disagreement with some of the other 9
members of the ICF board. The Dubliner resisted calls by some of the 96
delegates present to reconsider his decision, explaining that ‘it has been a
difficult year working as president. There have been clashes of opinion on many
occasions, and at this stage I think that the best thing for the harmony of the
sport is if I step down and let somebody else give it a shot.’
MURPHY
RETIRES, OTHERS LOOK AHEAD: (Nov 17) Two months after she became the first Irish woman
to compete in the Olympic road race, 1997 World Masters Champion Deirdre Murphy
has retired from competition. The 41 year old New York resident has opted to
hang up her wheels after a successful 8 year racing career, which yielded
several medals in World and American Masters (over 35) competitions, together
with a 4th place in last year’s 'B' world championship in Uruguay.
