Eddie Dunbar will be the most heavily marked rider at the National Junior Road Race Championships in Omagh on Sunday, but Belgian-based Matthew Doyle - seen here leading a race in Belgium earlier this season - is one of a number of riders capable of taking the road crown. The competition in the TT title race tomorrow, Saturday, will also be intense (Photo with special thanks to Rik Masil)
By Brian Canty
With a star-studded field of 50 riders – probably the best that has been assembled in recent times - Sunday’s National Junior Men’s Road Race Championships is set to be the most highly-anticipated and hotly-contested in years.
And with just a month to go to the World Championships in Florence, Italy, those lining up on Sunday in Omagh will know that a good performance will catapult them right into the frame for selection on the Irish team.
Advertisement
Unquestionably, the race favourite is Eddie Dunbar of the O’Leary’s Stone Kanturk team and with Dylan O’Brien as a talented and equally capable ally, the recently crowned winner of the Junior Tour will be the man who will take most beating.
Dunbar, a first year junior, has had a phenomenal season to date, pockmarked by dominant victories in Nenagh, Dungarvan and indeed, the Junior Tour, to name but a few.
His wins have been as outrageous as they have been plentiful with most coming from daring attacks from way out, and often on flat terrain. But Dunbar’s biggest strength is his climbing and Sunday’s course plays perfectly into his hands.
When he won the Minane Bridge Classic in April he started with the A3 group but went away inside the first few kilometres and stayed out front all day by himself, finishing with a bigger gap to the A1 riders than he started with.
But Dunbar only needs to look back at what happened last year when the hottest of favourites was beaten – and didn’t even make the top six. Ryan Mullen stormed to victory in the TT the day before and many felt he was unstoppable in the road race.
But that is exactly what happened when, following a flurry of attacks, a neat little five-man group got away, stayed away to the finish –and Mullen wasn’t in it. Liam Corcoran took the honours from Matt Doyle (Foyle CC) and Cian Dwyer (Dungarvan CC) that day in County Louth.
Everyone will mark Dunbar this weekend and he knows that. But unlike last year where there were just a few men to watch, this year there are upwards of 15 riders who have every right to believe they can win.
Thomas Fallon (Willebord Wil Vooruit) and Dylan Foley (Nicolas Roche Performance Team) are two who will also be watched very carefully, and following an extended period of racing in Belgium as well as the Track World Championships last week, they should be right up there at the sharp end of the race.
Both will ride the time-trial title race tomorrow, Saturday, as two of the favourites. Mark Downey is another favourite for the TT - and the road crown - and it’s possible the winner of that TT title could have the advantage when it comes to World’s selection.
The TT is a 40-kilometre test with a stinging drag for the opening 10 kilometres. The next 20 kilometres are lumpy and the remaining 10km or so, are downhill.
Crucially, Downey and Foley are teammates so it’ll be interesting to see what Phil Finnegan and the Nicolas Roche Performance Team have up their sleeve in the way of tactics in the road race on Sunday.
They have a seven-man team and have the experience of riding together all year and Danny Bruton, for example, could make a solid argument for ‘protected rider’ status also, having ridden the Europeans already this year.
Related News
Ciaran Campbell (Drogheda Wheelers) is another who is enjoying a superb season and he could well slip away and win the race. He won the Dunsany GP back in May, then rode the Europeans a month later; with Dunbar and Bruton. And more recently he’s been placed in the Beechmount Cup and the Brendan Campbell Memorial.
South Dublin’s Craig Arrigan could spring a surprise and having come fifth last year after making the key selection, he can’t be discounted. Neither can David Fitzsimons (Murphy Surveys), who also made the escape last year, taking fourth.
One man whose stock has risen enormously the last couple of months is Jack Sadler (Vanilla Bikes UK). Having taken two stage wins at the Junior Tour and really performed well in Glasgow on the track last week, he’ll know if he gets to within sight of the line on Sunday, he’ll be hard to stop.
Sadler has a frightening kick and oozes confidence on the bike. He’ll be gunning to use that sprint.
A medallist last year, Matthew Doyle has been racing in Belgium for most of this season, at a much higher standard than any of the other riders, including Dunbar.
And while illness forced Doyle out of the Junior Tour very early in the race meaning his progression this season has not really been revealed on home roads yet, he is a man who could ride away from the whole field on Sunday.
From the West, there are several strong riders who could keep the title in the province. Obviously, Liam Corcoran (NRPT) is the reigning champion and has a good sprint. Another Castlebar man, Cale Coen just might also have a chance. He performed well in the Ballinrobe Two Day last weekend, taking an excellent third overall.
Jason Prendergast (Cunga CC) will have had his older brother Charlie mentoring him all week about what it takes to win; Charlie won the title in 2009. Prendergast junior is an aggressive type and he’ll need to be to have a chance on Sunday, while Darragh Bailey (Donamon Dynamos/Budget Car Rental) is an unheralded rider who has been making good strides this year.
Last but by no means least, keep an eye on Stephen Shanahan of Limerick who won the A3 race in Fermoy last Sunday and who had a brilliant Junior Tour.
At 70 miles in length - seven laps of a 10 mile circuit - Sunday's contest is probably longer than most will ever have raced in one day. The winner is going to need to be able to last the distance and on a testing circuit, featuring a number of punishing drags, that won’t be easy. While 50 will start, there won’t be 50 at the finish. It’s going to be someone who has experience and no shortage of class.
Race Details
Sunday August 18th 2013
· Road Race (National A3/Junior championships)
· Junior race 70miles / 112kms
· Sign-on 11.00am-12noon
· Bike-check 11.30am-12.30pm
· Start Time 1.10pm (Just after the A3 race)
· Location Halfway House, Tattyreagh Rd , Omagh, County Tyrone BT78 1PZ.
Some points to bear in mind
· All bikes must be UCI compliant and bike/gear checks will take place before and after the event.
· Junior men (open to A3 and A4 licence holders with “Junior” designation)
· Riders must wear both back numbers.
Topics
