Photo by Sean RoweAnnalise Murphy Impresses Again While Paul Kennedy Takes Victory In Road National Series Round TwoMurphy takes solo victory to make it two from two in Kay Stratton MemorialKennedy earns solo victory from a breakaway in Donal Crowley MemorialGeorge Peden battles to second place to take overall leaders jerseyCork, Ireland April 28, 2024 The impressive Annalise Murphy and Paul Kennedys daring attack were the headlines from a thrilling day of racing at Round Two of the Road National Series.Blarney Cycling Club played host to the round as riders from all around Ireland competed in the Donal Crowley Memorial (A1/2 & Junior) as well as the Kay Stratton Memorial (Senior & Junior Women) along the roads outside Blarney.Murphy made her decisive move on the Nadd Climb, the biggest climb of the day, soloing to an impressive victory racing the final 35km on her own.Part of the days main breakaway in the Donal Crowley Memorial, Kennedy attacked on the Nadd Climb descent and held off the chase to take victory.Murphy Dominates Kay Stratton MemorialWith the Kay Stratton Memorial race staying together in the opening 50km, it was Murphy who drove the pace up the Nadd Climb.The Sailing Olympic medallist found herself alone over the top of the climb and kept up an infernal pace on the descent and final 35km to build a lead of over three minutes.Mary Corless and Jennifer Neenan completed the podium in second and third respectively, finishing strongest of a group of five chasers that also included junior overall leader Kate Murphy, Nicola Lynch and Abi Conway.Annalise Murphys performance solidifies her lead in the Senior Womens category following her victory in last months Des Hanlon Memorial.As well as defending the jersey, Murphy is looking forward to racing in other disciplines such as Cross-country Mountain Bike and Track in the coming months:A great race today and a great course, really nice to have a tailwind for the final 30km. It was a light womens field, theres lots of women racing in Ireland and we just need to get them doing these races, so Ill definitely be getting more people to get into races. I got away on the climb and ended up doing a near 40km Time Trial on my own which I havent done in a long time! Im feeling good at the moment and Im just trying to enjoy it.Im actually going to do a little mountain biking at the Cross-country National Series. Im looking forward to TT National Championships, Road National Championships and also on the track. I feel like Im doing loads of cycling and probably dont have the time to do it all. Im enjoying it.Hard-fought Donal Crowley Memorial With action from start to finish, the Donal Crowley Memorial proved a difficult race to win as a huge pace saw the field finish in multiple small groups.After an early breakaway of six riders were caught, the attacks came once again as a group of six riders established a strong lead at the front of the race.Kennedy, Cian Keogh, Liam Crowley, Michael Gammell, Willem OConnor and Conor Verbruggen kept the pace high and they were soon joined by George Peden, Killian OBrien and David Gaffney heading inside the final lap.There were splits in the main bunch as the gap drifted between 20 seconds and a minute before Kennedy, Keogh, Crowley, Peden proved the strongest to stay away over the top of the Nadd Climb.It was there that Kennedy made his decisive attack on the long and fast descent, and with teammate Keogh behind, he drove on towards the finish as the chasers spirit began to fade inside the final 20km.Peden attacked inside the final 2km to take second and also grab hold of the Open Overall Leaders Jersey as Keogh took third. Despite not placing in the days top twenty, Phillip OConnor retained his leaders jersey in the Junior category.Kennedy paid tribute to Blarney Cycling Club as he walked through a hard race:It was a hard race at 140km. We got away early enough, Cian (Keogh) my teammate was up the road, so I bridged across to him, we whittled down the group on the last climb and I attacked on the descent, got a gap. The gap just grew and grew, I won it by a minute and a half so Im happy enough. The Crowley family are steeped in history here in Blarney and theres serious history in Blarney Cycling Club. Its a great honour to win this cup.Results Donal Crowley MemorialPaul Kennedy TEAM SKYLINE CadenceGeorge Peden Team PB PerformanceCian Keogh TEAM SKYLINELiam Crowley UCD Cycling ClubJason Kenny UCD Cycling ClubPatrick OLoughlin Panduit Carrick WheelersLuke Smith Moynalty Cycling ClubQuillan Donnelly Team Dan Morrissey Primor by PisseiEoin Clifford Team Dan Morrissey Primor by PisseiPatrick OSullivan Orwell Wheelers*Conor Verbruggen Bray WheelersJack Conroy Bray WheelersWillem OConnor JEGG-DJR Academy*Killian OBrien Veleka Team*Padraig OSullivan Newcastle West CCPadraig Moran Lakeside WheelersJoe-Nathan Matar Orwell WheelersMichael Collins Newcastle West Cycling Club*James Davenport All human/VeloRevolution Racing TeamMilo Donaldson Killarney Cycling ClubKay Stratton MemorialAnnalise Murphy Longcourt Hotel NCW WheelersMary Corless- Challenge CCJennifer Neenan UCD Cycling ClubNicola Lynch Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club (Foreign)Kate Murphy Sliabh Luachra*Abi Conway Westport Covey WheelersEllen Ni Cleirigh Longcourt Hotel NCW WheelersRhiannon Dolan TC Racing*Sophie English TC Racing*The post National Series Round Two2023 appeared first on IrishCyclingNews.com | Irish Cycling News | IrishCycling.