Declan Lonergan won the Rás Tailteann in 1994 by just three seconds – the tightest winning margin in the event’s history at that point – and competed in the men’s track points race at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, finishing 22nd.

From Waterford, Lonergan was primarily a road racer who had been inspired to become a cyclist by the exploits of Sean Kelly, accumulating nine stage wins in the Rás across his career.

After not being selected for the Barcelona 1992 Games, a disillusioned Lonergan moved to the United States, where he continued his career before returning to Ireland in 1994 for the famous Rás victory. Based in Boston and riding for the Australian Institute of Sport trade team, he earned his Atlanta place by qualifying Ireland at the World Championships in Bogota in 1995, adding a World Cup victory in Havana in May 1996.