Brammeier takes national crown

Matt Brammeier of the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly cycling team is Irish National champion after a remarkable win in the All-Irelands today in Sligo.

Though originally from Liverpool, Brammeier took out an Irish passport and racing licence last year but more surprisingly was how he bested pro-Tour rider Nicholas Roche to the line today.

25-year-old Roche is based in France with the Ag2r professional cycling team and will ride his second Tour de France this year which starts next weekend in Rotterdam, Holland.

The son of Irish cycling legend Stephen Roche came into today’s race as the defending champion and hot favourite but had to settle for second best as he was comfortably beaten to the line by Brammeie, the Liverpudlian sprinting away from him after bother riders had broken clear of a lead group with 20 kilometres remaining.

Roche’s first cousin Dan Martin was third to the line ahead of David McCann of the Giant Asia racing team while Brammeier’s An Post team-mate and FBD Rás double stage winner David O’Loughlin was fifth.

The race was 11 laps of a 13.7 kilomtre circuit, mainly over rolling roads but with one steep climb it was suited to the likes of Roche and Martin who have been riding well this year.

The race was aggressive, as expected from the outset with several groups trying to break clear. The most significant move came on lap number eight when Roche, O’Loughlin, McCann, Brammeier, Martin and 19-year-old Sam Bennett went clear. Roche then attacked on his own and built up a lead of 14 seconds but was then joined by McCann and Brammeier.

Bennett, along with McCann were dropped and as they hit the bell for the final lap it was Brammeier clear on his own by ten seconds, followed by Roche, Martin, O’Loughlin and McCann who managed to bridge the gap.

Roche then jumped across to Brammeier on his own with his team-mate O’Loughlin marking every move by the three remaining in that chase group.

Roche rode at the front for the remaining four kilometres as the chasers behind- led by Martin were closing. Then, with fresher legs and a better finishing kick, Brammeier attacked with 300 metres to go and held off Roche to the line to take the title by a mere few seconds.

Martin beat McCann in the sprint for the bronze medal while O’Loughlin came in for fifth. The An Post team are registered in Belgium this year so they are not eligible for the team prize.