*Imogen Cotter. Photograph: Bryan Keane/INPHO

RUAN’s Imogen Cotter is the new Irish women’s elite road race champion.

At the end of a remarkable 92.9km race, Imogen prevailed. Only the best riders were left peddling entering the final twenty kilometres and it was the Clare women that took the spoils in the Senior Women’s Road Race National Championships in Coolbeg, Rathnew, Co Wicklow, on Saturday.

Based in Belgium with the Keukens Redant Cycling Team, Cotter outsprinted Megan Armitage (Team Rupelcleaning – Champion Lubricants) and Linda Kelly (Barrow Wheelers) to take the national title by a clear margin even though the medal winners arrived at the line in a three-rider group.

All three of the medallists came late to cycling. Imogen moved to Belgium in late 2018 in a bid to become a professional cyclist having began track cycling a year earlier. As a distance-runner in her teens, she medalled at All-Ireland cross-country, 3,000m and 5,000m.

Speaking at the finish line, the UL graduate declared, “It feels like a dream, it really feels like a dream”. She added, “I’ve said that about a million times since I have crossed the line, but I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it. I’m just so happy, I really wanted this so badly.

“I had a bad year with racing and it’s only the last six weeks or eight weeks that it’s picked up for me and I was, I was just coming into this just focused, so focused on it. I just wanted it so badly”.

Her perseverance at the finish and the legs to survive saw the twenty eight year old collect a coveted national title. “I just went for it, and I was thinking, in that moment where I was sprinting, I was just telling myself how much I wanted it, and I got it.”

This success comes a month after Imogen was called up to the Irish cycling team for Rás na mBan. It also caps off a positive day for the village of Ruan with their flagship hurling team overcoming Corofin to qualify for the semi-finals of the Clare intermediate hurling championship for the first time since 2012.

Related News

mobile banking 1
Phishing scam under investigation in Ennis
pamela mccarthy scoil chríost rí 1
'We don't want freebies, we want what we're entitled to' - school secretaries & caretakers seek pension parity
shannon airport giveaway 2
Shannon Airport giving away 80 flights during month of September
bunratty sheaf 2
Sheaf throwing competition part of the Traditional Harvest Day offering in Bunratty
Latest News
pamela mccarthy scoil chríost rí 1
'We don't want freebies, we want what we're entitled to' - school secretaries & caretakers seek pension parity
shannon airport giveaway 2
Shannon Airport giving away 80 flights during month of September
kilmihil v ennistymon 01-08-25 joey rouine 1
'We won't be afraid of anyone' - excitement building in Ennistymon for Clare SFC quarter-finals
shannon gaels v coolmeen 16-08-25 aidan corry 2
Coolmeen claim last Clare IFC quarter-final spot with dramatic finish
bunratty sheaf 2
Sheaf throwing competition part of the Traditional Harvest Day offering in Bunratty
Premium
shannon gaels v coolmeen 16-08-25 aidan corry 2
Coolmeen claim last Clare IFC quarter-final spot with dramatic finish
cratloe v st josephs doora barefield 16-08-25 diarmuid ryan eoghan thynne tom mcdonald 1
'Hard-fought wins' for Cratloe has paved way to quarter-finals
tulla v killanena 31-08-25 fionn ryan mark flaherty ryan hayes 1
Clare PIHC: Tulla draw knocks out Killanena, Tubber thump Parteen/Meelick & Magpies fall to another shock defeat
st breckans 1
St Breckans put emphasis on earning four-week break to get structure right for knockout football
clonlara v crusheen 23-08-25 oisin o'brien breffni horner 1
'We left it behind us against The Bridge' - Crusheen reflect on latest championship crusade

Advertisement

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.