Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) powered to victory in the elite men’s road race at the Irish Championships after distancing breakaway companion Dillon Corkery (St Michel - Mavic - Auber93) in the final 10km in Athea, County Limerick.
Rafferty had sparked the winning move with 20km remaining, and the Tyrone man produced a fine display on the finishing circuit to claim his first elite title on the road. Corkery, who won last year’s Rás Tailteann, held on for silver at 16 seconds, while Rory Townsend (Q36.5) outsprinted Dean Harvey (Trinity Racing) for bronze, just over a minute down on Rafferty.
Finn Crockett (VolkerWessels Cycling Team), who had initially tracked Rafferty and Corkery’s move, came home in fifth place.
Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-Alula) was one of the day’s main aggressors after winning the time trial title earlier in the week, but the Banteer man had to settle for 8th place. The national championships marked his return to competition after his Giro d’Italia challenge was ended by a crash on stage 2, and he is next in action at the Tour of Austria.
The day belonged to Rafferty, who was generous in his efforts across the day. He is in his first season as a professional, and the 2023 Giro della Valle d’Aosta has been quietly highlighting his potential as across the debut campaign.
Rafferty arrived at the Irish championships fresh from a solid outing at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he was in the break on the tough penultimate stage to Samoëns 1600. The 20-year-old inherits the national champion's jersey from his EF teammate Ben Healy, who missed this year's championships ahead of his Tour de France debut.
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