Seth Dunwoody, leading, said the Irish team tried to do a particular job at the World and, had it worked, they would have looked great, though unfortunately it wasn’t to be (Photo: Caroline Kerley)
The Irish U23 team hit the front of their road race at the UCI World Road Championships in Montreal, Canada, with a view to pulling off one of Irish cycling’s biggest days.
In the end, it simply wasn’t to be; our four riders – David Gaffney, Liam O’Brien, Adam Rafferty and Seth Dunwoody – running out of legs at the pointy end and having to be satisified with completing the race to a finish.
But this is the only U23 team we have ever had in a Worlds that have all already ridden in the World Tour. And it was a mark of who they are as athletes, and where they see themselves in the sport, that they decided to take it one.
Dunwoody – set for the World Tour ranks in 2027 with Bahrain Victorious – perhaps summed up the day best. He said, had it worked, it would have been awesome. But, when it didn’t, their work on the front for over half the 174km looked like a waste.
David Gaffney, a first year U23 who has already been called up to the Jayco AlUla World Tour team, heads the Irish train on the front of the bunch (Photo: Toby Watson)
“I’m super glad to be here,” he said, a reference to his crash at last month’s Tour de l’Avenir, followed by a less serious spill in the U23 TT earlier in the week in Montreal, though neither kept him away from the road race.
“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.”
This is a close group; Rafferty and Gaffney team mates at Hagens Berman Jayco while, along with Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development Team) and O’Brien (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), they are all competing in the same international races, with their Irishness their obvious bone.
Liam O’Brien went close to a medal at the Europeans last year and would normally be the man for such a hilly course, but he said the team simply ran out of legs on the day (Photo: Toby Watson)
But the tragic death of O’Brien’s brother, Irish junior international Shane O’Brien (17), is something that cannot be separated from their Worlds performance.
They went out there determined to make a mark after an incredibly hard time for O’Brien and his family.
And while they came up short – all having had a long season, it must be remembered – they rode with purpose.
After the finish, O’Brien’s remarks were as straight of those as Dunwoody; they went for it, but didn’t have the legs on this particular day to execute in the way they had hoped.
Adam Rafferty finishes his race after what was a very long and hard day out on a hilly course in Montreal (Photo: Sean Rowe)
“I’m feeling pretty empty and knackered. It was always going to be a hard day and we expected it,” said O’Brien whom under normal circumstances, would have given is a great chance on such a hilly course.
“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.”
Rafferty was Ireland’s best finisher, placing 60th some 8:33 on winner Ashlinn Barry (United States). O’Brien was 84th, at 13:30, Gaffney was 90th at 16:00, and Dunwoody, nursing his injuries, was a non-finisher.