On the start line getting ready to represent his country in the biggest race of the year (Photo courtesy Stenson family)
By Brian Canty
First-year junior Adam Stenson is reflected on a very strong ride in the road race at the World Championships in Richmond that can give him great confidence wherever he rides next year at home and abroad.
A member of the NRPT-Magnet.ie set-up in Ireland, he was racing for the national team in the US.
Stenson kept his head and legs when many around him were losing theirs on what was a tough course.
He maintained his position in the bunch as it got smaller every lap and was still in the mix on the seventh of eight laps, at which point he would be distanced when the race really exploded.
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He would come home on 89th place, some 7:25 down. It was an excellent ride for a teenager still with a year at this level.
“I think I rode well, I had no result in the end but I'm happy with the way things went,” he said.
“I was stuck behind a few crashes and dropped my chain on the climb a couple of times but each time I fought hard to get back on.
“If someone had said to me this time last year I'll be riding the World Championships let alone actually racing it and trying to be competitive at stages I would have laughed at them.
“But I've just got stronger throughout the year and I'm delighted with the way I'm progressing.”
On the race itself he said there was “no real breaking point”. Instead it was a contest marked by constant natural selection.
Winning stage 4 of the Junior Tour of Wales, one of the many rides that secured him selection for the Worlds (Photo: Huw Fairclough)
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“It didn't settle down like those kinds of races normally do after an hour,” he said.
“It just kept getting harder and harder each lap and the cobbles were wet from the heavy rain so we were slipping and sliding everywhere. There were bodies all over the deck.”
On the performance of the team’s star man, Michael O’Loughlin, Stenson said: “I think he had a great ride.
“He was up the road in a break with the biggest names in the world on the final few laps.
“And he was probably capable of finishing higher up but if you look at the ride he had, it was very impressive.”
Stenson is a graduate of the FBD Talent Team 2020 programme for youth riders, with the first batch starting to do very well now.
Stenson said while very pleased with his own ride in Richmond, the entire season had been a fantastic experience.
“If someone told me at the start of the year I would have done half the stuff I did this year I would have laughed at them,” he explained.
“But I'm delighted with the way things happened, though not really surprised.
“I've worked seriously hard through last winter and this summer. And while I know I’ve a long way to go I’m making improvements.”
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