Kelly Murphy
Cycling
BIOGRAPHY
Kelly is a self-confessed late developer who only took up cycling at 28 as a means of transport and joined the Irish team when she got the call two weeks after completing a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. Born in London in a tight Irish community, both her parents are Irish (Roscommon and Dublin). She is a three-time Irish Time Trial champion on the road and was part of the Team Pursuit who won bronze in the 2021 Europeans, and has now made history with their Olympic qualification. She was sixth in the individual 3km Pursuit at Worlds in 2021, and seventh at the 2022 Worlds when she lowered her own Irish record to 3:25:424. Like her teammates Kelly does her track training in Mallorca and races on road at UCI Continental level for her English club where she is a team leader.
OTHER CYCLING ATHLETES
CYCLING NEWS
In The News – May 12th
Equestrian: Austin O'Connor Achieves Podium Finish at Badminton Horse Trials Four time Olympian Austin O'Connor delivered one of his finest performances to date at the prestigious 2025 Badminton Horse Trials, finishing third overall aboard his long-time partner Colorado Blue. After a modest start in the dressage phase, where he placed 20th, O'Connor surged through the [...]
Team Ireland Weekend Highlights, April 12–13, 2025
From Augusta to Dublin, Belgium to the Basque Country, Irish athletes produced standout performances across a range of Olympic sports this weekend. Rory McIlroy Completes Career Grand Slam Rory McIlroy delivered a defining moment for Irish sport this weekend, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament and becoming just the sixth golfer in history — and [...]
Bronze for Gillespie at Track World Championships
Ending the championships on a high Gillespie finished third in the Women’s Points Race, claiming her first ever senior championship medal. This result adds to her success from earlier in the week when the Co. Wicklow rider recorded three top ten placings at the championships. The Points Race consists of 80 laps and includes a [...]
Top Five Finish for Gillespie at Track World Championships
Co. Wicklow’s Lara Gillespie got Ireland off to a strong start at the 2024 Tissot UCI Track World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark. The five-day championships got underway yesterday and Gillespie was the first of the Irish team to compete, racing in the Elimination Race this evening, Thursday, 17th of October. Gillespie faced strong competition with [...]
UCI Track World Championships | Team Ireland
Irish riders hit the track again this week, as they head to the UCI Track World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ireland will have three representatives on track in Denmark. Paris 2024 Olympians Lara Gillespie and Mia Griffin will be joined by Lucy Bénézet Minns, having just competed in the UCI World Road Championships in September, [...]
TRACK CYCLIST LARA GILLESPIE FINISHES 10TH IN OMNIUM
Track cyclist Lara Gillespie closed out the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for Team Ireland with a 10th place finish in the final event at the Velodrome; the Women’s Omnium. TRACK CYCLING Lara Gillespie helped Team Ireland leave Paris 2024 on a high with a brilliantly gutsy top 10 finish in the gruelling Omnium event at the [...]