Five Irish Riders in Action on Fifth Day of Racing at UCI Road World Championships
The fifth day of racing at this year’s UCI Road World Championships saw five Irish riders in action.
Four riders took to the start for the U23 Men’s Road Race. Seth Dunwoody, Liam O’Brien, Adam Rafferty and David Gaffney got to the front of the main bunch and controlled the pace for several laps, looking to chase down the early breakaway.
After a monumental effort on the front Seth Dunwoody pulled the pin and abandoned at the 90km mark. The three remaining riders drove on chasing the breakaway but ultimately Rafferty took 60th, O’Brien 84th and Gaffney 90th.
Dunwoody reflected afterwards: “Super glad to be here. We rode pretty ballsy, and I was glad we were able to ride as a team. We were productive in the race, even though we’re obviously not happy with the way it unfolded. I guess had we pulled it off we would have been class, but now that it didn’t we don’t look great but honestly we go out with our heads held high.”
O’Brien added afterwards: “Feeling pretty empty and knackered. It was always going to be a hard day and we expected it. Unfortunately we just didn’t have it in the end, just ran out of gas to be honest. It’s been a super enjoyable experience and it’s nice to be here with such a good bunch of lads. I’m happy with how we took on the race, just in the end it wasn’t good enough.”
The afternoon saw Emer Heverin ride the Junior Women’s race. A split in the group on the second lap saw her group chasing for a large part of the race but unable to get back to the leaders. She took 45th position after battling throughout the 80km race.
Eyes now turn to Sunday when Ben Healy, who took bronze last year in Rwanda, alongside team-mates Darren Rafferty, Ryan Mullen and Jamie Meehan take to the start line of the Men’s Elite race.