Though he is eligible to ride the U23 time-trial in the World Championships this year, Ryan Mullen will instead be doing the team time-trial with Cannondale on the opening day in Doha on October 9th. Above, getting the sliver in the U23 TT at the Worlds in Spain to 2014 when he was beaten to the rainbow jersey by less than one second (Photo by Sirotti, homepage photo by Sean Rowe)
Ryan Mullen will not get the chance to ride the U23 time trial at the World Road Championships in Doha this year as his Cannondale team has requested he ride the team time-trial with it instead.
Previously, riders on WorldTour contracts were ineligible for the U23 road race or time-trial at the World Championships but a ruling by the UCI last year changed that.
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It means the former elite and U23 national time-trial champion is eligible to compete for Ireland in the U23 races at the championships, which take place in Doha from October 9th to 16th.
However, the UCI rule also states that if an U23 rider competes at elite level at a Worlds, he cannot drop down to ride the U23 title races again.
A key reason Mullen was signed by his American team is his TT ability. And as he gets stronger he should quickly become a replacement within the team for TT talents like David Zabriskie and David Millar.
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Mullen has ridden really well for Ireland in the past but as his trade team lays claim to him for the World Championships TTT it means his U23 career for Ireland is over (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Against that backdrop, the fact his employer wants him in the TTT line-up at the Worlds is not unexpected and indeed is a vote of confidence in Mullen.
And he will now be in the hunt to ride the pro TT and road race at the Worlds, having already put in an excellent performance for Ireland at elite level at the European Games last year.
He was beaten in the U23 TT at the 2014 World Championships by 0.48 of a second in Ponferrada, Spain, where he took silver.
And though he had the chance to atone for it last year in the US, miserable conditions on the day militated against him doing a medal-winning ride.
The team time-trial will be a new experience for him in Doha and involves six riders per team.
And though Cannondale perhaps has some catching up to do before it can challenge the likes of BMC, Orica Bike-Exchange or Etixx-QuickStep, they have a strong line-up with Moreno Moser, Ramunas Navardauskas, Jack Bauer, Dylan Van Baarle and Mullen all capable of going well against the clock.
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