The Clogher rider was second in the Boy’s Time Trial, becoming the first male to win a cycling medal for Team Ireland at the EYOF.

The 16-year-old finished the 10km race in a time of 12:55.38, with only the Dutch rider, Gijs Schoonvelde, going faster. Co

Afterwards, the surprised and proud Cúchulainn CC rider spoke about his race, admitting:

“It feels amazing, I can’t really believe it to be honest. The course was pan-flat and a case of just going as hard as you could. I really wasn’t expecting it, I was hoping top 25-ish, and I just came over the line and I couldn’t believe what the man on the mic was saying.”

Coached by international racer Bryan McCrystal, Murphy normally competes on the mountain bike, and came into the event not knowing what to expect.

“Byran’s been great to me giving me advice for the Time Trial,” the silver medallist said. “I can’t thank him enough has really helped me, he even lent me his bike for the race. I think everyone will be pretty proud in Louth now. I’m in disbelief now but I think I will believe it when I get it in my hands and see it hanging on the wall at home. It’s a nice way to start the week, we will just give it a go on the mountain bike tomorrow.”

The only other cyclist to have won a medal for Team Ireland at the EYOF is Lara Gillespie, who won a silver medal in the Girl’s Time Trial in Gyor 2017.

David Gaffney and Philip O’Connor were also competing in the same race, finishing 18^th and 43^rd respectively.

The Girl’s Time Trial saw Killarney’s Kate Murphy finish in 27^th position, ahead of Greta Lawless in 40^th place.

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It is a second stage success for the Carrick-on-Suir sprinter, who also won yesterday, and gives his team two stage victories in the first week of the final Grand Tour of the season.

Stage 3, which was the final stage in the Netherlands, was again a showdown between the fast men. They duly contested the sprint on a circuit around Breda on the longest stage of this year’s Vuelta, at 193.5 km in length.

Sam Bennett started the stage in the green points jersey and hoped to be able to defend it and take another stage win.

With his Bora-Hansgrohe team supporting him all day, in the end, Danny van Poppel was the last man to set his teammate up perfectly on the left hand side of the road, ahead of the bunch sprint.

The Irish fast man was able to hold his own in a hectic tussle at the front and ultimately take the win.

The team from Raubling thereby took its second stage victory in a row and extended its lead in the points classification.

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BOOM!! 3rd medal of the #Paralympics for @KatieGDunlevy & @evemccrystal !! https://t.co/v3b4FOUikF

— Jacqui Hurley (@jacquihurley) September 3, 2021

Katie George-Dunleavy, Eve McCrystal – Women’s B Road Race

This has already been an amazing Paralympics for the Irish pair having won gold already earlier in the week. After hearing the national anthem while atop the podium, the two seemed excited to do it again.

This tough race set off at 05:00 this morning Irish time. Dunleavy and McCrystal showed their strength on the road in the time trial and this would be no difference and they continuously stayed near the top of the pack with its changing leaders and bursts from behind.

Just before the halfway mark of the 92.4km race, the Irish pair had themselves in a great position in the leading pack with the damp conditions not affecting them.

The race became more hectic in the final 12km lap. The Irish women were in the top three, competing with Team GB and the Swedish athletes.

They showed their true quality and fitness to break out in front over the last few kilometers. They brought the gold medal home in the Road Race with a time of 2:35:53.

This is now their third medal at these Paralympic Games and it marks them as one of the greatest tandem teams to compete in the sport.

GOLD Go on @KatieGDunlevy & @evemccrystal #Paralympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/73bbTabt0r

— Darren Frehill (@Darrenfrehill) September 3, 2021

Ronan Grimes – Men’s C4-5 Road Race

The Galway man was one of 25 riders in this long 92 km race. He came in this event searching for silverware with this being his third and final event.

Grimes’ race set off at 01:30 Irish time, with all racers going at a hectic pace to make it to the top and set the tempo.

As the race progressed, the Irishman had dropped to the back of the main group of riders, it was clear that this event is harder for cyclists without a partner from the same nation.

Grimes finished the race in 11th position with a time of 2:29:21

Richael Timothy – Women’s C1-3 Road Race

Timothy started only six minutes after Grimes’ event as she lined up with 14 other riders. This was the Irish woman’s fourth race at a busy Paralympics having broken personal bests in earlier events

Using some good riding, she remained off the top group of cyclists for the majority of the race. The tough wet conditions made it hard for each rider, making the race much more compact and steadier.

The 26-year-old finished the race in the 11th position with a time of 1:21:22.

As Ronan prepares for the off here is Richael Timothy on the rollers. #ParaCycling #paralympics #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/SZnjaB4Juk

— Cycling Ireland (@CyclingIreland) September 3, 2021

Martin Gordon, Aidan Byrne – Men’s B Road Race

This was set to be a long and tough race for the Irish pair lining up against some top-class opponents. This would be the pair’s fourth and final event at these Paralympic Games.

Unfortunately, today was not going to be the glory finish for the Irish tandem team as the weather conditions continued to get worse. The heavy downpour of rain led to Gordon and Byrne withdrawing a little over two hours into the race.

It is not the ending that the Sligo and Dublin men would have wanted but they leave these Games after breaking personal best times and setting a new Irish record.

Also in #ParaCycling Martin Gordon and Eamonn Byrne finished fifth in the B 1000m Time Trial Final following their PB time of 1:01.545.@AllianzIreland #Tokyo2020 #TeamIreland #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/QDaITnefQS

— Pundit Arena (@PunditArena) August 28, 2021

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The Tour de France green jersey holder was perfectly led out by his Deceuninck- Quick-Step team-mate Michael Morkov to snatch his third win of the season after two stages of the UAE Tour.

The Irishman overpowered France’s Arnaud Demare and former world champion Mads Pedersen in a 166-km first stage around Saint-Cyr-l’École, fatal to 2013 and 2015 winner Richie Porte, who crashed with 33 km to go and was forced out on the first day.

On paper, the 165.8km opening day should have been a quiet one, but the attackers had other plans. As  a consequence they attacked in waves inside the last 40 kilometres, forcing the peloton to up the tempo. The peloton began a frantic chase that stretched out the bunch and put many riders in the red.

On the hectic uphill finish, Sam Bennett stayed in a perfect position until the last 200 metres, when he shot out of the pack and sprinted to victory with his hands on the top of his brake levers, putting several bike lengths between him and his opponents.

It was the fourth win of the Carrick-on-Suir native in the “Race to the Sun”, after the ones of 2017 and 2019, one that brought him also two jerseys, yellow and green.

“Coming into the race I didn’t know how my shape would be, because racing here is different from the UAE,” Sam Bennett said. “Here it’s full gas the entire day and today it was another test to see where the legs were. We were a bit blocked in the last kilometres and could come to the front only with two kilometres to go, which was thanks to Michael, who always stays calm and knows what he has to do. I was confident and I just waited for the right moment to go and all I can say is that I’m happy with the kick I had and my victory.”

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Bennett, winner of the green jersey in this year’s Tour de France, beat Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen and Italy’s Jakub Marecszo in a sprint finish to narrowly take the stage win at the end of the 191.7 kilometres.

Today’s success is Bennett’s third Vuelta stage win and his sixth in a Grand Tour.

UAE Team Emirates and Bora-Hansgrohe went to the front of the peloton late on, before Philipsen moved clear 200 metres from the finish.

However, Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s Bennett went on the Belgian’s wheel and won by a bike length to secure his first win at this year’s La Vuelta.

“It was so fast on the run-in, I was a bit nervous,” said the winning Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider.

“I had the power but he (Philipsen) was so explosive out of the corner and I didn’t know if I would catch him” the 30-year-old explained.

“I found the speed I needed, and in the end, I managed to overtake him and take my first win since Champs-Élysées, which feels amazing”, a delighted Bennett said after picking up Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s 39th victory of the year.

Defending champion Primoz Roglic remains in the overall lead, five seconds ahead of Ireland’s Dan Martin with Richard Carapaz in third.

Stage four result
1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step)
2. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates)
3. Jakub Mareczko (ICCC)

General classification after stage four
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 16hrs 30mins 53secs
2. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +5secs
3. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) +13secs

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The Carrick-On-Suir man, who won his first Tour de France stage yesterday, was bidding to become the first Irish cyclist to win consecutive stages in the world’s most famous cycle race, and was hoping to emulate his fellow ‘Carrick’ man, Seán Kelly, who the first of his five Tour de France stages in Poitiers in 1978.

Wednesday’s 167.5 kilometres stage from Châtelaillon-Plage went to Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), who was taking his second stage in this year’s event, with Peter Sagan second across the line and Bennett third.

When officials reviewed the race finish, Sagan was deemed to have shoved Jumbo-Visma sprinter Wout van Aert in the closing metres and was relegated to 85^th place, last in the finishing bunch sprint.

This meant Bennett was promoted to second, earning him more green jersey points, to add to the points he claimed earlier in the day when taking second behind breakaway leader Matthieu Ladagnous at the intermediate sprint.

“I don’t really know what happened it was so hectic,” admitted Bennett. “It (the final sprint) was hard to make the switch from following my teammate to going alone. I found myself too far forward too early and then I was trying to drift back and it was a bit late to drift back. Then they came at speed – it was just a complete mess. I just tried to limit my losses and get the best result I could.”

The Irish rider is now on 234 points, 68 points ahead of seven-time points’ classification winner Sagan on 175, with Frenchman Bryan Coquard third on 157.

Race leader Primoz Roglic from Slovenia maintains his lead over the defending Tour champion Egan Bernal.

Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche finished in 133rd and 138^th respectively on today’s stage, with Martin maintaining his position as the leading Irish rider in this year’s race. The Israel Start-Up Nation rider is 64^th on the general classification, with Roche 75^th and Tuesday’s stage winner Bennett 139^th, almost two-and-a-half hours behind the yellow jersey wearer.

Stage 11 result

1. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) 4hrs 00mins 01secs
2. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) same time.
3. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) same time.

General classification after stage 11

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 46hrs 15mins 24secs.
2. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) + 21secs.
3. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) + 28secs.

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The Carrick-On-Suir rider, who became the sixth Irishman to win a stage in the Grande Boucle, held off Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take victory in Ile de Re Saint-Martin-de-Re.

Twenty-nine-year-old Bennett’s win gave his Belgian Deceuninck – Quick-Step team a second stage win at this year’s Tour following the victory of Julian Alaphilippe on stage 2.

Bennett’s victory means he has won a stage at all three of cycling’s Grand Tours, having taken three at the Giro d’Italia in 2018 and two at the Vuelta a Espana in 2019, both for his former team, Bora-Hansgrohe.

Bennett who has shown great consistency since the beginning of this year’s Tour, with second, third and fourth place finishes during the opening week of the race, said of his first Tour de France stage win:

“You dream of it and never think it will happen. It hasn’t hit me at all yet. Oh man, I was waiting to go and I thought I might have left it too late. I thought he might have got me.”

While reflecting on the day’s sprint, the Irish cyclist admitted:

“I forgot to throw the bike at the line in the moment and I thought he might have got me. I thought I’d be in floods of tears but I’m in shock.”

Bennett, who became very emotional and broke down in tears, continued:

“I just want to thank everyone that has been involved, the whole team, Patrick for giving me this opportunity and just everybody it took to get to here. I want to thank my wife, everyone around me.

“You dream of it, you never think it’ll happen. It did and, I don’t know, it took for a while to hit me.”

To add to today’s success, Bennett now regains the lead in the points classification, by 21 points, from seven-time green jersey winner Peter Sagan.

Tour de France leader Primoz Roglic retained the yellow jersey as he safely negotiated the flat 168.5km route from Ile d’Oleron Le Chateau. The Slovenian maintains his 21 seconds advantage over defending champion Egan Bernal.

In the day’s intermediate sprint Matteo Trentin (CCC) outsprinted Peter Sagan and Sam Bennett at Châtelaillon-Plage with 39 kilometres to go. Jumbo-Visma and Ineos-Grenadier put the pressure on with 18 kilometres to race before the bunch split into three pieces.

With the field back together 10 kilometres from the finish, Jumbo-Visma kept the situation under control before Nicolas Roche’s Team Sunweb went to the front. In the end, it was the races big sprinters who fought it out, with the Carrick-On-Suir man coming out on top.

Bennett becomes the sixth Irishman to win a stage at the Tour de France after Shay Elliott (1963), Seán Kelly (1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982), Stephen Roche (1985, 1987 and 1992), Martin Earley (1989) and Dan Martin (2013 and 2018).

Stage 10 result

1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 3hrs 35mins 22secs.
2. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) same time.
3. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time.

Dan Martin finished 130^th on the stage, 5 minutes and 25 second behind his fellow Irish rider. Martin’s cousin Nicolas Roche was 10 minutes 52 seconds back after a crash.

Martin is now the highest ranked of the three Irish riders at this year’s Tour, standing in 64^th place on general classification, 1 hour 11 minutes and 13 seconds behind the race leader Primoz Roglic.

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Stage 8 from Cazères-sur-Garonne saw early attacks as Benoît Cosnefroy and Nans Peters (AG2R-La Mondiale), Ilnur Zakarin (CCC), Kevin Reza and Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Michael Morkov (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Neilson Powless (EF), Fabien Grellier and Jérôme Cousin (Total Direct Energie), Carlos Verona (Movistar), Toms Skujins (Trek-Segrafredo), Soren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb) and Ben Hermans (Israel Start-Up Nation) formed a 13-man breakaway group which at one stage of the day’s race had an advantage of 14’15’.

On the climb of the Port de Balès, Cousin rode away from the breakaway with 60km remaining but was reeled in 9km before the top of Port de Balès. Peters, Zakarin and Pacher moved into position while Jumbo-Visma seized the reins of the peloton.

Eventual stage winner Peters crossed the Port de Balès in first position with 36.5km to go, along with Zakarin but the Russian didn’t manage to follow the Frenchman in the downhill.

Peters started the ascent to col de Peyresourde with an advantage of 45 seconds’ over his rival. Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) worked hard at the front of the chase but Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) was first to attack, followed by Primoz Roglic and Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic).

Pogacar went again, so did Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and Quintana at the beginning of the downhill. While Peters kept his advantage to win stage 8, the yellow jersey group was reunited behind Pogacar who reduced his deficit on General Classification.

Bardet gained two seconds to move up as well but Yates remained in the yellow jersey with Rogli content to stay in second place.

Ireland’s Sam Bennett did claw back two points in the green jersey race thanks to the day’s intermediate sprint.

The Carrick-on-Suir rider is now just seven points behind points classification leader Peter Sagan, with 131 points to the Slovakian’s 138.

Team Sunweb’s Nicolas Roche is in 59th place overall, 46 minutes and 36 seconds behind yellow jersey-wearer Adam Yates, while Israel Start-Up Nation’s Dan Martin in 71st, almost an hour down.

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Van Aert of Jumbo-Visma became the first rider to win two stages in the 107th Tour de France as he outsprinted Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT) and Bryan Coquard (B&B) in Lavaur after a fierce battle.

It was a double victory for van Aert’s team after they helped to split the 168 kilometres stage with just over 40km to go in a move that saw them work with rivals Ineos Grenadiers as both teams looked to exploit the opposition in the crosswinds.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) both missed the split and would lose well over a minute at the finish but they weren’t the only riders to see their General Classification bids dented with the Trek-Segafredo duo of Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema both missing out. Richard Carapaz, also lost time after he was forced to drop back after a late mechanical on a day that also saw the peloton fracture as early as the first climb due to extensive pressure from Peter Sagan and his Bora-hansgrohe team.

Sagan, for all the effort from his team, could only manage 12th at the line after getting boxed in and being forced to slow. His consolation came from the fact that he now leads the green jersey by nine points ahead of Sam Bennett.

Bennett finished a tough day empty handed, part of a group that finished more than 10 minutes down on the road. That means that Sagan, who began the day trailing Bennett by 12 points in the fight for green, now leads the category by nine.

Nicolas Roche is the leading Irish rider on general classification, 27 minutes 53 seconds down in 54th place, while Dan Martin is 72nd, nearly 14 minutes behind his cousin.

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The Carrick-On-Suir rider finished just behind stage winner Wout van Aert and Cees Boll but ahead of green jersey holder Peter Sagan, who was fourth on the 183km trip from Gap to Privas.

Bennett won the intermediate sprint after 48 kilometres at l’Épine this afternoon, giving the Deceuninck – Quick-Step cyclist 20 points. With the incumbent Peter Sagan of Slovakia claiming only 13 points for a fourth-place finish in the sprint, Bennett moved to the head of the standing with 103 points, ahead of Sagan on 96 points, with the yellow jersey wearer after stage 1 on Saturday, Alexander Kristoff next on 90 points.

Bennett’s teammate Michael Morkov took second in the intermediate sprint, taking 17 points away from the Irishman’s main rivals, with the stage winner on Monday, Australian Caleb Ewan finishing third. With Bennett finishing ahead of Sagan in the sprint at the end of the stage, the Irishman moved to 123 points, ahead of Sagan on 114 in the points classification.

“It’s special for me to be the third Irishman to wear the green jersey,” Bennett said. “I will do everything I can to keep it.”

“I’m honoured to wear (green) at least once and I’m really happy that happened today. It’s hard to go for stages and the green jersey – today I was so focused on the green I almost forgot to really, really try to win”, the 29-year-old Irishman said.

“I’ve never had such mixed feelings in my career. I’m really happy to have green but sad to have lost the stage. But I did everything I could. In the last two kilometres I didn’t have the legs to sprint, but I’m pretty happy with my performance in the end.

“It was a really hectic sprint, and to be honest, at three kilometres to go I felt that I didn’t have the legs to sprint anymore. The final was really difficult, I could feel that as we were approaching the line. I was focused today on taking the green jersey and having it and following in the footsteps of Seán Kelly and Stephen Roche feels amazing. I am delighted and proud with it and want to enjoy this moment and continue fighting for green.”

Seán Kelly was the overall winner of the green jersey four times in the Tour de France, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1989, while former Tour de France winner Stephen Roche also wore the green jersey.

The stage victory for Van Aert was another success for the Jumbo-Visma team after Primoz Roglic’s stage win to Orcieres-Merlette on Tuesday.

Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation was 137^th today, 4 minutes 50 seconds behind the leaders, while Team Sunweb’s Nicolas Roche was 7 minutes 4 seconds behind the stage victor. Though Roche falls from 22^nd to 44^th in the general classification, he still remains the leading Irishman on GC in this year’s Tour de France.

Unfortunately for Bennett’s teammate, Julian Alaphilippe, he lost the yellow jersey when penalised 20 seconds by the race jury for taking a water bottle inside the last 20 kilometres of the stage. The Frenchman lost the race leader’s jersey to Briton Adam Scott of Mitchelton-Scott and slips down the general classification to 16^th position, 16 seconds behind the new leader.

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