Rónán Dunne of Team Ireland on his win to a fantastic first medal at the Worlds, doing the business in the finals in Valais, Switzerland (Photo: Ed Sykes-SWpix)
Rónán Dunne (Team Ireland) has followed up his recent UCI World Cup win with bronze at the UCI Downhill World Championships, a career best result for him at the Worlds.
The 23-year-old Wicklow man blasted to bronze in Valais, Switzerland, on Sunday behind winner – also fastest in qualifying – Jackson Goldstone (Canada) and silver medal winner Henri Kiefer (Germany).
Dunne adds his bronze from today to the UCI World Cup win he claimed in Les Gets, France, last weekend when he became the first Irish rider to win two rounds of the World Cup, after also claiming victory in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, last year.
Today it was the young German, Kiefer, who threw down a marker early; the 20-year-old, who was junior world champion two years ago, stopping the clock at 2:56.099.
Though that time withstood the challenge from a wave of top tier riders, Dunne initially went closest to beating it, but came up short by just 0.047 seconds.
Gladstone was up shortly after Dunne and managed to beat the Irishman and Kiefer. Indeed, he wiped out Kiefer’s time, going a whopping 1.946 seconds faster to take gold in some style. And that was the way it stayed; a Canada-Germany-Ireland podium.
Though that was a big day for Dunne, in that he has won his first ever Worlds medal, big results are now expected of him every time he races given his increasing strike rate on the big days.
Oisin O’Callaghan and Henry Kerr also competed for Ireland in today’s finals, though Jacob Dickson missed out in the qualifier. Kerr was 30th, at 11.015 seconds, while former junior world champion, O’Callaghan, was 33rd at 11.316 seconds.
More to come.