Ryan Mullen defends Irish elite men's title in time trial ahead of Peden and Rafferty
Trio of riders repeat on podium with NSN Cycling's WorldTour veteran carving out bigger margin of victory
Ryan Mullen (NSN Cycling) won the elite men's time trial national title Thursday in Swinford at the Irish Road Championships. An 11-year veteran on the WorldTour, Mullen stopped the clock after 30.7km in 35:08 for his second consecutive ITT title.
The podium was a duplicate of last year, with George Peden (Team PB Performance) repeating in second and Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) going third.
This year's course was 5km longer than the prior year in Kilbeggan, which turned into a close six-second decision between Mullen and Peden. For 2026, the course went out-and-back through Carracastle, with just one 2% uphill across 6.4km at the mid-point and then more rolling terrain in the final 7.7km back toward Swinford.
The NSN rider left no doubts about his title defense this time by winning with a 47-second margin. Rafferty repeated in third, 1:15 back, and held Conn McDunphy (APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery), a former winner, to fourth position by one second.
Both Mullen and Rafferty came into the event off the back of 21 days at the Giro d’Italia, while Peden has had success in one-day races with his domestic team.
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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