Irish rider Siobhan Horgan finished an excellent second in the Grand Prix de Plumelec Morbihan at the weekend, performing stronger than she herself expected in the hilly French Cup race. A total of 110 riders lined up in the event, which saw them complete five laps of a 13.9 kilometre circuit and then four 7.5 kilometre laps.

Horgan competed in the race after her former teammate Christine Majerus (Team GSD Gestion) asked if she would help her defend her lead in the French Cup Series. Horgan rode with the team for the first three laps, helping to stave off attacks, but towards the end of the last of those, former French champion Edwige Pitel (Vienne Futuroscope) attacked strongly and shattered the bunch into different groups.

Horgan was in a group of four riders slightly adrift of a ten woman break ahead. Her group was joined by four others and together the eight got across. After a number of attacks, the Canadian rider Julie Beveridge (Vienne Futuroscope) went clear with 15 kilometres remaining. She rode well and build a race-winning lead of 40 seconds.

With two kilometres to go, Horgan answered an attack from Beveridge’s team-mate Karol Ann Canuel and the two went clear. They raced together to the finish, where Horgan outsprinted her for second, nine seconds off the winner’s time. Christine Majerus (Team GSD Gestion) led home the next group three seconds later.

“I am very happy with the race,” said Horgan. “I did not have high expectations going into it as it was my first big race of the season. I just thought I could do what I could to help out my former team and anything else would be a bonus! So I am delighted with the result.”

The performance will be a major morale booster for the multiple national champion. The difficulty of the event was reflected in the fact that there were just 39 finishers.

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Grand Prix de Plumelec Morbihan, Brittany:

1, Julie Beveridge (Vienne Futuroscope) 110.3 kilometres in 2 hours 54 mins 15 secs
2, Siobhan Horgan (The Edge) at 9 secs
3, Karol Ann Canuel (Vienne Futuroscope) same time
4, Christine Majerus (Team GSD Gestion) at 12 secs
5, Elodie Hegoburu (ES Gervais Lilas)
6, Edwige Pitel (Vienne Futuroscope)
7, Marion Rousse (Vienne Futuroscope)
8, Ludivine Rousse (Vienne Futuroscope)
9, Sandrine Bideau (CSM Puteaux)
10, Melodie Lesueur (ES Gervais Lilas) all same time