Dunlevy and Kelly Strike Gold at Para-Cycling Europeans in Maniago
Katie-George Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly claimed gold in the Women's B Time Trial at the Para-Cycling European Championships in Maniago, Italy, completing the course in 36 minutes and 24.06 seconds to beat the British pair by just 0.75 seconds in one of the most dramatic finishes of the championships, as Ireland concluded the competition with seven medals β their best-ever haul at a Para-Cycling Europeans.
Background
Katie-George Dunlevy is one of Ireland's most decorated Paralympic athletes. The Wicklow native, who has been visually impaired since her twenties due to a degenerative eye condition, has won gold medals at the Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, making her one of only a handful of Irish athletes to have won three consecutive Paralympic gold medals in the same event. Her partnership with pilot Linda Kelly, a former able-bodied cyclist from Tipperary, has been one of the most successful in the history of Irish Paralympic sport.
The European Championships in Maniago, a small town in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northern Italy, served as a key preparation event for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. The course β a 20-kilometre time trial through the foothills of the Dolomites β was technically demanding, with two significant climbs and a fast, technical descent in the final five kilometres.
Key Developments
Dunlevy and Kelly set off as the penultimate pair, with the British tandem of Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall having posted a time of 36:24.81 that looked likely to be unbeatable. The Irish pair attacked the course from the start, with Kelly calling the corners and Dunlevy generating the power on the climbs that has made their partnership so formidable.
They crossed the line in 36:24.06, beating the British pair by 0.75 seconds β a margin that prompted scenes of jubilation in the Irish camp. Dunlevy, who was unaware of the British time until she crossed the line, described the moment as "one of the best feelings I've ever had on a bike." Kelly said the pair had "left everything on the road" and that the victory was the result of months of meticulous preparation.
Ireland's seven-medal haul at the championships also included silver medals for Ronan Grimes in the Men's C3 Road Race and Eve McCrystal in the Women's B Road Race (with pilot Josephine Healion), and bronze medals for Patrick Monahan, Colin Lynch, and the mixed tandem of Gary O'Reilly and Damien Vereker. The performance confirmed Ireland's status as one of Europe's leading para-cycling nations ahead of the Los Angeles cycle.
Cycling Ireland's high-performance director Mick Sheridan described the championships as "a landmark moment for Irish para-cycling" and said the results validated the investment made in the programme since the Paris Games. He confirmed that the full para-cycling squad would attend a training camp in Girona in August as part of their Los Angeles preparation.
Why It Matters
Dunlevy and Kelly's gold medal is significant not just as a sporting achievement but as a demonstration of the depth of Irish para-cycling talent. The pair's dominance in the Women's B category has been consistent across multiple Paralympic cycles, but the margin of victory in Maniago β achieved against a strong British pair on a technically demanding course β suggests they are in excellent form heading into the Los Angeles cycle.
Ireland's seven-medal total at the championships is also a record, surpassing the five medals won at the 2024 Europeans in Ostend. It reflects the sustained investment in para-cycling infrastructure and coaching that has been made since the establishment of the Cycling Ireland High Performance Centre at the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown. The results will strengthen the case for continued funding from Sport Ireland ahead of the next four-year cycle.
For Dunlevy personally, the gold medal adds to a palmares that already makes her one of the greatest Irish Paralympic athletes of all time. At 38, she shows no signs of slowing down, and a fourth consecutive Paralympic gold in Los Angeles would place her in the very highest tier of Irish sporting achievement.
Local Impact
The victory was celebrated in Dunlevy's home county of Wicklow, where Bray Wheelers Cycling Club β of which she is a member β held an impromptu gathering to watch the time trial live. In Tipperary, Kelly's home county, local cycling clubs organised viewing events in Thurles and Clonmel. The Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown, where both athletes train, confirmed that a reception would be held for the returning squad on their arrival back in Dublin on Sunday evening. Cycling Ireland's junior development programme, which operates in partnership with schools in Dublin, Cork, and Galway, has reported a significant increase in enquiries from young visually impaired athletes following the Paris Games, a trend that the Maniago results are expected to accelerate.
What's Next
Dunlevy and Kelly will return to training at the Sport Ireland Campus next week before travelling to the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships in Bruges in August. The World Championships will serve as the final major selection event before the Los Angeles Paralympic qualification period opens in January 2027. Cycling Ireland has confirmed that both athletes have been selected for the World Championships squad, along with Grimes, McCrystal, and Healion.
