Ryan Mullen gets to go again in the U23 Worlds but the new UCI rule changes mean a tougher World Road Championships for Irish U23 teams in the years ahead (Photo: Sean Rowe)
A new ruling by the UCI has paved the way for elite and U23 national time-trial champion Ryan Mullen to compete in the U23 road race and time trial at the World Championships next year.
The championships are set to unfold in Doha, Qatar, from October 9th to 16th, a couple of weeks later than the traditional dates.
Mullen getting the chance to go again to try and grab the gold medal in the U23 TT in 10 months will be welcomed by all in Irish cycling.
However, the impact of the rule change longer term is perhaps not so good for Ireland.
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Previously, U23 men on contracts with WorldTour teams were excluded from racing in the U23 category in the Worlds road race or time trial.
So with Mullen having ridden at Continental level for the last three years - with IG Sigma Sport and then for two seasons with An Post-Chainreaction - he has been eligible to ride the U23 races at the Worlds.
But now that he has secured a place with the Cannondale World Tour team; under the old rules he would not have been eligible for the U23 events at the Worlds.
The new rules stipulate that U23 men on World Tour teams can race in the U23 category provided they have not raced in the elite men's race at a previous road Worlds.
Mullen satisfies this criteria and so he will get the chance to improve on the silver he claimed in Spain in 2014.
He was hoping to perhaps win the U23 gold in September in Richmond in the United States but things did not go his way and he was beaten into 11th.
That was hugely disappointing for a man of Mullen's standing as he had been in great shape prior to the event.
Next year's Championships in Doha will see temperatures in excess of 35 degrees Celsius but on a flat 40-kilometre course, Mullen will most likely be licking his lips.
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At the inaugural European Games in Baku this year, against many World Tour riders, he finished 8th on a 52km course and in temperatures that were in the region of what he'll face in Doha next year.
However, while his unexpected eligibility for the U23 races in Doha is great news for Irish cycling, the longer term implications of the rule change may not suit our teams.
It will mean riders competing at World Tour level who are U23s can simply drop down from competing at the highest level with their trade teams and represent their countries at the U23 road Worlds.
This will suit those larger nations with a number of riders who are so strong they have secured places on World Tour teams while aged 20, 21 or 22 years.
While Mullen has done very well by moving up to World Tour level for what would have been his last year in the U23 category, some countries have riders at that level a couple of seasons earlier in their careers.
And by the time they are in their last year at U23 level, they are established winners on the World Tour.
At present, Caleb Ewan of the Orica GreenEDGE team is one such rider.
The change in rules means if he is not picked for Australia's elite team for the Worlds, he could simply ride the U23 Worlds, meaning the Irish team would be facing riders like him who have won Grand Tour stages.
Also in the rule changes is the creation of an U23 women's category for the World Cyclocross Championships.
While the number of young women racing cyclocross in Ireland is small, having the U23 Worlds as a goal to chase can really bring on that scene, with obvious benefits for women's mountain biking.
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