PRESS RELEASE
European Road Junior & U23 Championships – Offida, Italy: 12-17 July 2011
THE HEAT WAS ON FOR THE IRISH TEAM IN ITALY
Last week a seven person Irish Team raced at the European Road and TT Championships in Offida, Italy. The team consisted of Juniors Ciara Mulholland and Ryan Mullen, and U23 riders Sam Bennett, Philip Lavery, Felix English and Conor Dunne. Managed by Neil Martin, the young team competed on the tough courses in extreme conditions, with the temperatures often close to 50 degrees.
Ciara Mulholland and Ryan Mullen, both first year juniors, raced in the Road Race and the Time Trial, gaining valuable experience from their exposure to international racing. The TT was a technical course, with Mullen putting in a strong performance over 25km, sitting comfortably in the top ten, until the final drag to the finish. He eventually finished 2min 12sec behind the winner, in 25th place. Mulholland started the 15km women’s TT fast, but unfortunately misgauged a corner, losing time in the crash. At the end of the undulating course she was in 23rd position, and 6th first year junior. In the Road Race the two young juniors faced the hottest time of the day, and suffered with a combination of the heat and a fast paced race start. Nonetheless both riders learnt a lot from the international exposure, and will aim to come back stronger and more experienced riders next year.
In the U23 Men’s TT Sean Downey was the strongest finisher, finishing just 2minutes outside the winning time of 33.29 set by French rider Yoann Paillot, in 34th position. Felix English, who has been showing strong form in his first year as a senior rider, crashed early in the race, but recovered to finish in a time of 35.58, with Conor Dunne finishing 47th. In the Road Race these riders joined Philip Lavery and Bennett, with Bennett making a 6 man breakaway early on where he stayed for most of the race. However, as the race entered the final 3 laps the break started to struggle, and Bennett dropped back. It was not only the Irish who suffered from the heat, as out of 160 starters, only 46 riders finished the race!
This year Ireland sent a young team to the European Championships, with all riders eligible for the same category next year. The team management focused on correct preparation, and conduct as part of a National Team, which means that all riders will gain from their experience and become better riders for it.
Staff:
Team Manager: Neil Martin
Performance Director: Phil Leigh
Mechanic: Adrian Delaney
Soigneurs: Jenni Nason & Paula Dowling
For detailed results: http://uec-federation.eu/results/ & http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/european-road-championships-u23-juniors-2011
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