Seth Dunwoody, the Irish teenager who really made waves on the road racing scene in Ireland this year, has signed with the junior team of World Tour squad Bahrain Victorious. Dunwoody, a youth Irish champion on the road, has ridden for Irish club Shelbourne Orchard CC.
The 16-year-old, from Markethill in Co Armagh, was among the 13-rider squad unveiled today. He is the only Irish cyclist in the line-up, which also includes riders from all across Europe and the United States.
Bahrain Victorious now has two junior teams affiliated to it; junior squad Cannibal Victorious Bahrain, which Dunwoody is now part of, and the UCI Continental outfit Cycling Team Friuli. Bahrain Victorious has already signed some riders from Cycling Team Friuli; 20-year-old Croatian National ITT Champion Fran Miholjević snapped up this year and established World Tour pro Jonathan Milan in 2020.
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Dunwoody has secured his place at the time after a string if impressive performances; winning the U16 road race, TT and criterium titles this season. He also represented Ireland at the European Youth Olympics in Slovakia in July, placing 5th in the TT.
While racing on the road, while he has dominated the youth ranks, Dunwoody also took his first elite race win this year when he was give special permission to ride the Peter Bidwell Memorial in July, as preparation for the European Youth Olympics. He attacked from the A3 group on the opening lap of eight, getting clear on his own and riding the rest of the race solo before taking victory by almost one minute.
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In June at the Noel Teggart Memorial in Co Down Dunwoody and Patrick Casey (East Bradford CC) got away in the U16 race and managed to catch and pass the A3-Junior bunch and breakaway, before going through them to finish 1st and 2nd in their own race.
The Cannibal U19 International Team is a Belgian outfit that has been operating for 10 years and their collaboration with Bahrain Victorious is new for next season, representing a big step up for the team. The junior squad will use Bahrain Victorious's "technical partners to develop and utilise the team’s expertise and equipment, giving young talented riders a clear pathway to the World Tour".
Milan Erzen, managing director of Bahrain Victorious, said his World Tour team was very excited to bring the junior and Continental teams into their operations from next year.
“We are creating an eco-system that helps inspire and develop the best young riders from an earlier age to achieve their ambitions," Erzen said. "CTF and Cannibal Team have already established excellent infrastructures over time, which is evident by their talented riders and results.
"Our support will help CTF and Cannibal take it to the next level and be competitive in a growing competitive space with the help of our technical partners such as Merida Bikes, Alé and Rudy Project. We hope our team’s support will help them prepare for the World Tour.”
