March 2015 Gold for NUI Galway Academic at Para-Cycling Track World Championships

NUI Galway academic, Dr Eoghan Clifford has won the World Title in the Men’s C1-2-3 Scratch Race at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, which took place over the weekend. Dr Clifford is a lecturer in Civil Engineering and a member of the Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and Energy Research at NUI Galway.

The Galway-based rider, who is the reigning road and time trial world champion and who was competing in his very first scratch race, also claimed bronze in Friday’s C3 3km individual pursuit.

Dr Clifford burst onto the international Para-cycling scene last summer, when he won both the Road and Time Trial World Titles at the Para-cycling Road World Championships in the USA, and competed on the track for the first time this February, after being introduced to the track in January.

Speaking after the win on Sunday, Dr Clifford said: “I stayed near the back for the first few laps, but when the attacks started after 5-6 laps I knew my legs were good. I’m not an explosive rider so I rode high on the track so I could cover moves, and when the pace died I put in a good hard dig to tire out people. With about 25 laps to go I put in one big huge attack when I saw the main guys boxed in, and I just kept going.  That was a long 25 laps! Once I caught the main group I rode through to the front to keep out of danger and keep an eye on the rest."

This brings to an end another fantastic World Championships for the Irish Para-cycling Team, which won a gold medal and two bronze medals. Speaking at the end of the successful weekend, Dr Clifford was said: “We’ve had a great worlds; I’m delighted for everyone here. I couldn’t have asked for better support than Neill, Gerry, Tommy and Johnny, with it being my first time on the track it was great having these guys behind me. I would also like to thank my colleagues from the College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway for their support. It was also great to have my family over here earlier in the week; I really hope they saw it online today.”

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