The first edition of Gran Fondo Ireland in Sligo was an instant success with 1800 riders from 20 different countries at the start.
In the 25.6 km time trial on Saturday, the overall win was for Marcus Christie who rode the distance in a time of 30m53 and an average speed of 49.73 km/h. Paul Kennedy from the 40-44 age group got second at 12 seconds while Ian Inglis secured third spot.
The female win in the time trial was for Hazel Smith in 39m56 and an average speed of 38.46 km/h. Her nearest opponents were Karen Hull and Lucia Borradaile who were both almost three minutes behind Smith.
The next day, Christie doubled up with the win in the granfondo race. The rider from the Isle of Man finished solo with a 25 seconds gap to Bryan McCrystal with time trial runner-up Paul Kennedy now finishing as third.
In the mediofondo counting as qualifier distance for all women and men over 60, the overall win was for John Madden with an impressive 7m39 lead towards a large group of 30 riders sprinting for second place. In that group were also the top 3 women with Harriet Martin sprinting to overall 5th to take the female win ahead of Mary Corless and Gabrielle Fox.
