Olympian cyclist and high-flying executive Anthony Lally pleads guilty to assaulting single mum

A former Olympian and high-flying manager accused of hitting a female driver during a heated road meltdown told police she “beat herself” before later admitting to committing the attack.

Irish cyclist Anthony Lally, 68, was filmed calling single mother Monique, 45, “fat” and “blind” during an expletive rant on July 12 after he accused her of cutting him off in traffic on Pittwater Road, in the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

The footage showed Monique begging the pension manager not to hit her after he reached out for her through the door of her Honda HRV parked in a Brookvale parking lot.

After Daily Mail Australia revealed the identity of Mr Lally, who goes by the nickname Tony, police showed up at Mr Lally’s home in Cremorne 20 days after the attack and beat him with a series of charges.

Mr Lally told officers, who carried body-worn video footage, that Monique had cut him off the bike and he shouted a warning.

In the process, he collided with her car, according to police records obtained by Daily Mail Australia.

Footage (pictured) shows the furious cyclist reaching through the door of Monique’s car during the anger incident on Sydney’s northern beaches in July

Mr Lally said he then followed her to a nearby car park, where he admitted there was a verbal confrontation but claimed he hadn’t put a finger on her.

‘I didn’t touch her at all. I certainly didn’t touch her,” Mr Lally said according to the facts.

Mr Lally went on to claim that the victim “beat herself” as she quickly pulled her hands away from him to her chest area, and that he didn’t want her filming and just “tried to grab the camera and talk to her.”

The businessman had a camera on his bike for recording purposes, but Mr Lally told police when he checked that footage of the moment of the incident had already been recorded.

However, despite his initial self-defense claims, Mr Lally pleaded guilty to ordinary assault and entering a vehicle without the owner’s consent in Manly’s local court on Wednesday.

A third charge of stalking or harassment with intent to cause fear of physical or mental harm was dropped by the prosecution.

Monique (pictured) said she was disappointed that Mr Lally’s lawyer had moved to drop some of his charges

Mr Lally did not appear at the hearing, nor on two previous court dates listed last month.

Monique told Daily Mail Australia she was “very disappointed” by Lally’s attempts to have his sentence reduced.

“I don’t think men should be able to beat women in broad daylight, in their homes or in their vehicles,” she said.

High-flying executive and former Olympian Tony Lally is pictured with Australian cycling legend Cadel Evans

“Hitting my chest was totally unacceptable.

“It’s really disgusting not to be able to travel freely as a single mother without the fear of being attacked.”

According to police documents, Monique was traveling north on Pittwater Rd around 11am when Mr Lally passed on his bicycle to her left.

Monique then indicated she was turning left into a driveway, but as she pulled in, Mr. Lally started yelling at her before his front tire hit the back of her car.

After she pulled into the driveway, Mr. Lally ‘aggressively cycled to the victim’, the driver’s door opened, then he leaned forward and yelled at her, prompting Monique to record the interaction in fear.

“Are you damn blind, huh!” Mr Lally screamed before trying to grab Monique’s phone from her hand.

He then shouted ‘You fat bastard!’ before hitting Monique’s chest as she tried to reach for her phone.

Mr Lally stands next to a painting of himself in Dublin in 2019

‘Don’t hit me, don’t hit me, don’t hit me. You can’t hit me!’ Monique is heard saying in response. ‘I’m calling the police.’

Monique went to Dee Why’s police station and filed a report shortly after the incident.

Mr Lally owns a $3.6 million North Shore home and, according to his LinkedIn page, is the independent chairman of asset manager Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited.

He was previously the CEO of the industry fund Sunsuper, which recently merged with QSuper to become the Australian Retirement Trust.

Mr Lally also represented Ireland at the 1980 Moscow Olympics where he took part in the individual road cycling race, celebrating his sporting achievement with a painting of him on a bicycle in Dublin.

A sentencing date for Mr Lally has yet to be determined.