Dunwoody Crowned Men's National Champion As Heverin Adds Another
Seth Dunwoody is the Elite National Road Race champion for 2026.
The Bahrain Victorious rider took top spot in a sprint against defending champion Rory Townsend of UNIBET Rose Rockets and Finn Crockett of Volkerwessels Cycling Team in second and third respectively.
High winds and several tough climbs split the peloton in the early stages of the 171km race, with the initial group of 20 riders being slowly whittled down throughout the day. Four riders managed to stay away, and although Townsend jumped out to an early lead with 200m to go, Dunwoody’s power took him over the top and to the win. Conn McDunphy narrowly missed out on a podium place having stuck with the top three all day.
Dunwoody said afterwards; “It feels incredible. I’ve had a lot of close runs in with big races this year, which has been tough you know but to open the account at nationals has been incredible. Today was super tactical but I kind of like that, it always makes it a good race, and as for the tough conditions I kind of thrive in that honestly.”
Talking about the run to the line, he added: “I wasn’t expecting Rory to go so early and I had to dig really deep but yeah giving up wasn’t an option to be honest. It’s been a tough year, I lost my granny over Christmas which was tough. I wanted to win a big race for her, second in Roubaix, Ghent was tough. And then with Shane O’Brien’s passing during the Giro, that was tough for all of Irish cycling. Giving up wasn’t an option, I’m not just doing it for myself. I wanted to win it for everyone around me, all my family, people that support me.”
Orwell Wheelers took the team prize in the Men's race, with Sean O'Kane, Liam Crowley, Padraig Moran, Evan Keane, Luke Keaney and Matt Lynch bringing the title back to South Dublin.
Emer Heverin added another national championship title to her own tally this morning, already 30 plus across different disciplines, and her third in quick succession.
Heverin got into a solo break in the Junior Women’s race for the final 40k and took the win by three minutes and 51 seconds ahead of second place WV Breda's Ffion Dolan and Dungarvan's Aoife O’Donovan.
Heverin gave an insight into her tactics after the race; “I made a couple of small attacks to see where everyone was and how they were feeling, then half way around the first lap I pushed on up the hill and eventually got away on my own.”
The CAMS Majaco rider, wearing a black armband on her left arm, added afterwards; “I just want to say this one is for my teammate Shane O’Brien, he was a great friend to us all and he’ll be missed.”
A massive thank you must be extended to our hosts for this weekend’s races, Cunga CC, as well as Thursday’s TT hosts Castlebar CC.