Class Act: Dylan Foley has worn the green of Ireland against the watch and on the road in the past and tomorrow, Saturday, he has his biggest assignment yet; the Junior World Road Race Championships in Florence, Italy. (Photo: www.blackumbrella.ie)
Emerging teenager Dylan Foley believes “anything is possible” in tomorrow’s UCI World Junior Road Race Championships in Florence.
The second-year junior from Cork will ride alongside Mark Downey and Eddie Dunbar in the three-man Irish team, and given how well all three are going it’s no surprise to see them full of confidence.
“The legs are coming around now, they’re feeling very fresh so I’m feeling ready to go,” Foley told stickybottle.
“The season ended last month but I kept training away hard, I had speed in the legs from the Track Championships so the last few weeks has been just about getting in the mileage. And at the end of each endurance spin I’d do a few efforts to keep the legs going again. So I’m keen now to test myself. I’ve done as much as I can, it’s all down to the day now."
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“I’ve raced the European Road Race Champs last year and the Track Worlds in Glasgow last month - they’re all on a similar level to Saturday; everyone is able to win. But I’ll just have to treat it like any other race; ride it like any other.”
Foley said predicting a result in a race such as this is nigh on impossible, before adding all that matters is that he and the team do all they can. The result, if it comes, will take care of itself.
“I’ll just have to be careful and not get sucked into the hype of the event; concentrate on things that matter – like I have to be very careful about how much I drink, and getting the right amount of food into me.”
“It’ll be a lot different to racing at home, you’ve to watch yourself all day and keep hydrated, that’ll be very important.”
“But once we enjoy it and we’re happy with how we performed, then we can come in after and say we couldn’t have done any more; that’s the most important thing.”
“At the end of the day, you need a lot of luck to get a result so we just have to put ourselves in the best position to get one; to just give it our best shot. It’s the World Championships, anything can happen,” he added.
Foley has shown remarkable maturity for a junior and his progress, he says, is thanks to several people.
“Definitely my parents deserve huge credit. They’re so excited they’re gone out to Florence before me! My dad is always driving me around the place to races and takes me out behind the motorbike, so without him I wouldn’t be here. And Timmy Barry too, my coach, he’s always on the phone to me, advising me.”
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“He was on the phone to me this morning and yesterday and he’ll be in Italy cheering me on. I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done. I can’t complain about him one bit – he’s always there to give me a good bollocking if he thinks I need it and he’s been a great help.”
Indeed, a huge Irish presence is expected in the Italian city over the weekend but Foley said the championships are as much about learning as enjoying the experience.
“I’ve only ever been at major events with the juniors, never with the elite team. So with the likes of Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche around the place it’s going to be great. Just to see how they operate and go about their business. I want to learn from those guys.”
Saturday 28th September:
Junior Men Road Race 139.65km
Starts at 8:30am local time, 7:30am Irish time
The race will take the riders 57.2km from Montecatini Terme into Florence and once in Florence they will then negotiate five laps of a 16.6km course with a tough climb each lap.
Eddie Dunbar Dylan Foley Mark Downey
Here’s the route profile for the junior race:
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