Analysis: 5 reasons it was a great World Champs for Ireland

While there were no Irish medals in Richmond, Virginia, it was still a great Worlds for the national squad (Photo: Sirotti)

In Ponferrada, Spain, 12 months ago the Irish national team emerged from the World Road Championships with a silver medal and an unexpected top 10.

Ryan Mullen missed out on a world title by just .48 seconds in the U23 time trial (TT)) but took the silver for Ireland.

It was the nation's first medal at a Worlds since Mark Scanlon's junior road race win in 1998.

Also in Ponferrada last year, Michael O'Loughlin put in a blistering TT to take 8th in the junior contest.

This time around in Richmond, Virginia, there were no medals for the Irish team and no top 10s even.

But falling short of last year's high points does not mean the championships were a failure for Ireland.

Indeed, when one looks beyond the results and examines the performances, Richmond should be seen as a very strong World Championships for Ireland for many reasons.

The elite men

Sam Bennett’s performance in the elite men’s road race – finishing 40th just 40 seconds down after 260km – came after Conor Dunne had gone in the early breakaway. Dunne’s going clear and staying out front for so long was a fantastic ride and tops the best month of his career. His Worlds ride was preceded by a really strong performance in the Tour of Britain. With Bennett able to stay with the big guns in Richmond – many of whom had full teams supporting them – until the last lap, it shows he can be competitive in even the longest one-day races in time. And with his sprint, the Carrick-on-Suir man could do something big – very big – in the next few years. He said himself earlier this year his successes to date had come due to his sprint and that he needed to improve his strength generally. He hung in for as long as possible in the Tour de France with that goal in mind and he seems to have reaped the benefits. Both elite men had a race they can be hugely proud of. (Photo: Sean Rowe)

Aggressive Dunbar

The first-year U23 rider went into the road race as the sole Irish representative but that did not stop him making his mark. He explained to stickybottle that he felt below his best coming into the Worlds, adding the Tour of Britain had taken a lot out of him. That is hardly surprising for a 19-year-old who was the youngest rider in that race. He said he was unable in the U23 TT last week in Richmond to reach the numbers he had put out when he was 9th in the TT at the European Championships last month. Against that background, he believed he had two options in the road race; simply ride around for the best result he could achieve and finish around 30th or get himself up the road. He took the latter option and while overhauled after riding out front for a long time, he still finished. Dunbar has clearly shown he has fantastic natural ability and that he has no fear. This Worlds, as his first in the U23 category, was always going to be a learning experience for him. It will undoubtedly aid him when he is even stronger and has a team behind him. Having the legs and the self confidence to ride in a Worlds the way he did is rare.

The impressive Mullen

Ryan Mullen went into these championships as one of the red hot favourites to take a medal in the U23 time trial (TT) having won silver in Spain last year. And while his eventual placing of 11th was a long way off what he would have liked, the fact such a result was disappointing speaks volumes. Now aged 21-years, this was Mullen’s last crack at the U23 Worlds. But that is only the case because he has progressed to WorldTour level already with Cannondale-Garmin (and WorldTour riders are not permitted to ride in the U23 category). The rain worked against him and the others in the last wave of riders to get underway in the TT. And had road conditions been equal for all Mullen would have gone very close to a medal. Still, he goes into a WorldTour career having demonstrated he has a huge engine riding against the watch. And his 11th place in Richmond, despite the rain and the pressure on him, is further evidence of the big days that are hopefully still to come. (Photo: Sirotti)

The formidable Dillon

Olivia Dillon put in a fantastic ride in the elite women’s road race to finish the event; which is much easier said than done and not often achieved by Irish riders. Dillon's Irish jersey was a constant towards the top third of the bunch as the laps ticked down and the US-based veteran was still in there on the penultimate lap. It was not until the fireworks went off on the second to last and last passages of the testing final section of the 15km course that she was distanced. And by that stage a huge number of riders had abandoned. Others were well scattered back the road and had fallen so far behind they were pulled out of the race. Now aged 42 years, Dillon clearly still has what it takes to compete at this level. At some stage would be a fantastic addition to Cycling Ireland’s efforts to develop the women’s scene. (Photo: Sean Rowe)

Emerging Ciara Doogan

The teenager from Donegal has proven herself something of a quiet achiever during the course of the past year. She finished 5th in the points race at the European Track Championships in Athens in July and then went on to put in a great ride at the European Road Championships. She came home in 25th place in a much reduced peloton where the race was dictated by the stronger nations with full line-ups in the race. In her junior women’s road race in Richmond, she found herself off the back after a chaotic start. But she fought back to the peloton and continued to fight the whole way around the course, eventually finishing in 58th place. It was a strong result considering she had ground to make up so soon after starting and that her main focus this year was on the track. She will still be a junior next year and will return to these big races wiser and stronger. Hopefully she will be able to build on the experience she has mopped up this season.