Ryan Mullen was last night crowned national U23 and elite time trial champion after he beat Eddie Dunbar (NFTO) and Martyn Irvine (Madison Genesis) on the opening night of this year’s championships.

Ryan Mullen is the big favourite to land back-to-back U23 time-trial titles tonight as this year’s national championships get underway in Omagh, Co. Tyrone.

With five former winners on the start-line and a large overseas contingent competing, this weekend’s Kerry Group Rás Mumhan certainly lives up to its name as one of the country’s foremost international stage races.

Kerry Group Rás Mumhan champion Mark Dowling has played down his chances of repeating his heroics of 12 months ago when the race rolls out of Killorglin on Friday.

Germany’s John Degenkolb claimed his third sprint victory of the Vuelta a Espana by winning stage 12 in Logrono yesterday as Ireland’s Dan Martin survived a rather stress-free day and remains 11th overall.

Páidí O’Brien is one of the hot favourites to win the final major stage race of the domestic cycling season, the Suir Valley 3-Day, which starts in Clonmel today and runs until Monday afternoon.

Cycling: The in-form Ali Macaulay of Phoenix CC took victory at the end of yesterday’s feature race on the Irish cycling calendar, the Brendan Campbell Memorial in Donore.

One of the country’s most exciting prospects, Ryan Mullen, took the biggest road race victory of his young career when he soloed to a stunning win at the National Championships at Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath yesterday.

CYCLING: Sam Bennett is the hot favourite to win tomorrow’s Elite National Road Race title in Mullingar, but the Carrick-on-Súir rider is playing down his chances.

Former An Post Sean Kelly rider Páidí O’Brien claimed a brilliant win in the inaugural Kieran MacMahon Memorial Classic in Co Clare yesterday.

Clemens Fankhauser of the Austria Tirol Cycling Team scooped the biggest victory of his career in Skerries yesterday when he won the An Post Rás.

New Zealand have a real star in the making in Patrick Bevin after he scorched to another stunning stage win on stage four of the An Post Rás in Caherciveen yesterday, ensuring he retains the leader’s yellow jersey at the halfway point.

Jan Sokol of the Synergy Baku Cycling Project Team won stage three of the An Post Rás into Charleville, Co. Cork yesterday on a day where two of the strongest domestic Irish riders lit up the race and Kiwi Patrick Bevin retained the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Patrick Bevin is the new race leader of the An Post Rás after he stormed to a solo win on the second stage of the race into Lisdoonvarna, Clare, yesterday.

The An Post-Chain reaction team may have fielded just two Irishmen out of a possible five in its line-up for this year’s An Post Rás, but it is the Belgian-based squad who drew first blood on stage one into Roscommon yesterday.

Ireland’s Dan Martin suffered one of the biggest disappointments of his career yesterday when he crashed within sight of the line in the iconic one-day Belgian classic, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Mark Dowling claimed the biggest win of his career at the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in Killorglin yesterday when he wrestled the yellow jersey from overnight leader Paddy Clarke by 12 seconds.

Paddy Clarke takes the yellow jersey into today’s final stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan – level on time with Mark Dowling (DID Dunboyne) – following yesterday’s thrilling third stage.

Former international rower turned bike rider, Cathal Moynihan won yesterday’s opening stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan for the biggest win of his career and the first leaders’ yellow jersey of this year’s race.

Reigning Kerry Group Rás Mumhan champion Damien Shaw believes he has the form to become the first man to win back-to-back titles on the country’s second biggest stage race.

Robin Kelly stormed to victory in the season-opening Ned Flanagan Memorial in Monasterevin, Kildare yesterday.

Fintan Ryan took the biggest win of his career to date when he claimed the National Junior road race title in Omagh yesterday.

The An Post Chain Reaction outfit are the men to beat in this weekend’s Suir Valley 3-Day in Clonmel, Tipperary.

UCI President Pat McQuaid has ensured doubters his nomination from the Swiss Cycling federation for a third term as head of the sport’s governing body is legitimate.

Team Sky stormed to victory on the second stage of the Giro d’Italia yesterday.

Dan Martin ended Ireland’s 21-year wait for a classic win when he claimed the Liege-Bastogne-Liege crown in Belgium yesterday.

In one of the most dramatic finales to the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan, Damian Shaw of the Aquablue team held onto the race leader’s yellow jersey, but only by a mere four seconds after second placed Harry Sweering (West Frisia) looked destined to take it.

Following a brutal battle with the elements racing around South Kerry for yesterday’s third stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan, Mullingar man Damian Shaw of the Aquablue team regained the leader’s yellow jersey with an awesome show of strength.

Kerry Group Rás Mumhan race director Tadhg Moriarty has warned riders with designs on making an impact on this year’s event to be “prepared for one of the hardest stages in the history of the race.”

Sean Lacey won his fifth straight Lacey Cup in Tralee yesterday, edging out Michael Fitzgerald (Fermoy CC) and talented junior Dylan O’Brien (O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk CC) after 76 kilometres of hilly racing.

Sean Lacey will be going for his fifth straight Lacey Cup title when he takes to the start-line in Tralee tomorrow for the traditional Munster season opener.