Few people will be sorry to see the back of 2020 yet a
most difficult year brought about plenty of upside for some Irish cyclists.
Emerging riders took a step forward, others bubbling away
in recent years broke through to the very top and those written off my some
came good once again with a bang.
In this piece we take a look at some of those movers and
shakers and what may be ahead of them in 2021.
This is not a list of the top cyclists in Ireland; many
big names are not here. It’s also not a list of the highlights in the year
ahead. Instead, it’s a look at some of those who made big moves in their
careers over the past year and what may be next.
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Lara Gillespie (19)
Already a winner of medals on the track at the junior Worlds and Europeans, Lara Gillespie took a big step forward in winning the elite Irish road race crown in 2020. Her opportunities to race internationally were wiped out by the pandemic over the past 10 months. However, the UCD CC rider, and scholarship athlete, has also signed with Belgian-based Team Rupelcleaning for international racing in 2021. Many Irish cycling fans are looking forward to seeing her in the pro bunch.
Dan Martin (34)
Not exactly an "emerging" rider, Dan Martin has been a pro since 2007 and took his first big win - the overall at Route du Sud - in 2008. However, after a quieter period over the last couple of seasons and on the wrong side of 30, Martin was written off by many when he moved to Israel Start Up Nation for 2020. But he bounced back in great style despite fracturing a bone in his back; taking a stage win and 4th overall at La Vuelta. That catapulted Martin back to his best and it will be very interesting to see if he can build on that in 2021 when his team will be much stronger with the arrival of new riders, including Chris Froome.
Sam Bennett (30)
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Like Dan Martin, Sam Bennett has now been around for a long time and had won big races before 2020. However, he broke through to the top of the sport in the past 12 months with two stage wins at the Tour de France and the green jersey. He goes into this year having settled into Deceuninck-QuickStep; a team that will continue to back him all the way in 2021 when his sprint and the best lead-out in pro cycling will surely bring more big wins. Whether he can repeat, or even better, his successes in 2020 will be watched closely by fans of the sport and the Irish media, which finally woke up to his exploits last year.
Kevin McCambridge (19)
After a very successful tenure as a junior, during which he won the TT national title, Kevin McCambridge signed for Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling for the 2020 season but saw his plans wiped out due to the pandemic. However, he still impressed at the National Road Championships where he recorded the second fastest time in the TT, of the U23s or elites, but was eligible only for the U23 silver medal. The Irish teenager then went on to have a big say in the road race, attacking off the front until deep in the contest before taking 6th on the day. He has signed for AVC Aix En Provence for 2021 and has the class to really excel. Without exaggeration, he is one of Ireland's most exciting prospects at present.
Imogen Cotter (27)
A latecomer to cycling, Cotter has made up for lost time with rapid progress in the past couple of seasons. She was 2nd in the nationals road race in 2019 and took a big win against pro opposition in Zolder in 2020. She has opted to stay with Belgian team KeukensRedant for 2021 which, given her huge strides in the last two years, could prove an exciting season for her. She got a taste of the big time towards the end of the 2020 season when called up to the UCI team Ciclotel, which offered her a stagiaire, meaning she rode the Tour of Flanders.
Eddie Dunbar (24)
The Ineos Grenadiers rider endured a frustrating season, hit by Covid-19 before suffering a fractured collar bone at Tirreno Adriatico when racing got going again; a crash that ended his season. However, in the midst of the ups and downs was, for us, a career breakthrough ride; 4th place at Giro dell'Emilia (1.Pro). He rode the finale at the front of the 200km race in the biggest company and proved one of the strongest on the very hard finish in San Luca. The race was won by Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) from João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Diego Ulissi (UAE-Team Emirates). Dunbar was next, in a top 10 that also included Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo). If the Irishman can recapture that form, and stay healthy, in the year ahead, 2021 could finally see a big breakthrough win.
Ben Healy (20)
Ben Healy may have been denied many racing opportunities in 2020 but he still enjoyed a brilliant season and looks every inch the real deal; a classics contender for Ireland in the years ahead. He took the U23 TT in the Nationals in October as well as the elite and U23 road race titles with a dominant display. He also took a brilliant stage win at Ronde de l'Isard (2.2U) and helped team mate Tom Pidcock to overall victory at the Baby Giro. With Pidcock now moving on to Ineos Grenadiers, Healy will be the leader at Trinity Racing and is capable of huge results in the biggest races. He is a rider who has picked off big wins in each of the last three seasons and looks like a banker to continue in that vein in 2021.
Archie Ryan (19)
If Ben Healy is shaping up as a classics prospect for Ireland, Archie Ryan looks like he can compete on the biggest climbs in major international races. His potential was spotted by Jumbo Visma in his junior days and was offered a place at their development team for 2020. While racing opportunities were few during the year due to the pandemic, when Ryan finally got his chance and the road kicked up he came to the fore. In his second UCI-ranked stage race of the year, Albertina Baltyk-Karkonosze Tour (2.2) in Poland, he was 7th on the climbers' stage and 7th overall. And at Ronde de l'Isard he was top 10 on three of the five stages and 8th overall; an excellent performance. That Ireland has Ryan and Healy in the same batch of U23s at present will make things very interesting in the year ahead.
Mia Griffin (22)
Mia Griffin, who turned 22 years old a couple of days ago, is a really interesting athlete who previously captained the Kilkenny intermediate camogie team, and has since become a track international. She has been a member of the successful women's team pursuit line-up that has repeatedly lowered the national record and was 8th at the Worlds. She also claimed a bronze medal in the U23 individual pursuit at the European Track Championships in 2020. On the road she finished just out of the medals at the Nationals in both the TT and road race, placing 4th in both. In 2019 she won a round of the National Road Series, in very challenging conditions in Blarney (photo above). In 2020 she began to race on the road in Europe with Illi Bikes; riding well until the pandemic intervened. She is staying with that team for this year and looks like a rider very much moving in the right direction and who has the goods for a big leap forward in 2021.
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