Jake Gray on the front of the decisive breakaway on the final stage of the Youth Tour of Scotland earlier this year, with stage winner and FBD Talent Team 2020 team mate Michael O’Loughlin in third place. The Irish pair - and four other Irish riders - are in action this week at the European Youth Olympics.
A six-rider Irish youth team will tomorrow face a very fast road race at the European Youth Olympics in Utrecht in Holland judging by the performances of some of the best riders in yesterday’s boys’ and girls’ time trial events.
The races against the watch were held on a flat and fast circuit, with the U16 boys’ race seeing two of the riders absolutely rip around the 9.7km course in a 48kph average.
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In that boys' time trial yesterday, Michael O’Loughlin from Carrick Iverk Produce was the best of the three-rider Irish team, clocking a time of 12mins 57secs. That put him in 45th place in a field of 99 riders.
He was 51 seconds down on winner Erlend Blikra from Norway, who took gold in a time of 12:05, just one second ahead of silver medallist Leo Appelt from Germany, with Poland’s Szymon Sajnok a further three seconds adrift in the bronze medal position.
Declan Mulholland – a very strong youngster from Clann Eireann – also put in a good ride yesterday, coming home just four seconds and four places behind his team mate O’Loughlin, in 49th slot.
Jake Gray, a first-year U16 who won the Youth Tour of Scotland earlier this season, came home in 74th place in a time of 13:21. That put him 9th of the first-year U16s in the field; a very good performance by the young man who rides in the colours of East Tyrone CC at home.
In the girls' time trial, which also took place yesterday, Ireland fielded another three-rider team in the shape of Ciara Doogan, Emily Birchall and Josie Knight.
Doogan was the best of those three in the test, posting a time of 14:25 to grab what was a very decent 30th place of the 74-rider field.
The leading two riders quite simply scorched around the course. The gold medallist was Italian Lisa Morzenti who clocked 13:24, just 1.3 seconds faster than the silver medallist Pernille Mathiesen of Norway. The standard of their rides was reflected in the fact that bronze medallist Kseniia Tcymbaliuk of the Czech Republic was a full 10 seconds off silver.
Emily Birchall took 41st place in a time of 14:36, with Josie Knight clocking 14:51 and taking 50th place.
Team manager Martin O’Loughlin said he was very happy with the performances, adding the nature of the course was one that the Irish riders had not faced in a time trial before now.
“It was dead flat and non technical, so really fast. There were only two corners on it that you couldn’t pedal around and you can see how fast it was from the times.”
He added while the Irish teenagers had competed abroad before, most have not done any events comparable to the size, atmosphere and standard as a Youth Olympics.
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“The road races are on tomorrow (Thursday) so we are expecting those to be fast and hard,” he said.
“Like any championship, positioning is going to be very important. It’s on a specially built course around the Maxima sports park in Utrecht and in some spots it's only three metres wide so it will be tight.”
With the girls' race over seven circuits for a total race distance of 55km and the boys' 10 laps for a race distance of 79km, O’Loughlin said there is a feed zone on the course to keep the riders well stocked with bottles tomorrow.
“Our riders obviously haven’t ridden a race like a World Championships and experienced the busy feed zone area so we have had a bit of practice for them over here, handing them up bottles.”
“It’s all part of the learning experience for them, as is being at a major championships with lots of other athletes from other sports, taking in that atmosphere as well as competing, staying in the Olympic village; it’s all great experience that will stand to them.”
O’Loughlin added the fact the boys had ridden some A3 races at home recently meant the distance tomorrow should not be a huge factor for them.
While resting up today after their TT yesterday and facing into their road races tomorrow, the team took in some of the athletics and were in the stadium when Ireland’s William Crowe won a silver in the 1,500 metres.
Full Irish Team - Youth Olympics
Male - Declan Mulholland, Jake Gray & Michael O’Loughlin.
Female - Ciara Doogan, Emily Birchall & Josie Knight.
Managers - Martin O’Loughlin & Nicola Oldham,
