Two Irish U16 riders, who we are likely to be hearing a lot more about in the years ahead, put in a storming ride in their race at the Noel Teggart Memorial at the weekend. Seth Dunwoody and Patrick Casey closed five minutes to the A3-Junior bunch before passing it and then catching and passing the breakaway.
The duo went on to contest the finish of the U16 race in a two-up sprint, with Dunwoody (Shelbourne Orchard CC) winning and Casey (East Bradford CC) finishing in 2nd place.
Both riders are in contention for the Irish team for the European Youth Olympics in Slovakia next month and Casey, who is based in the UK, was in Ireland racing with an eye on preparing and being selected for that Irish team.
Advertisement
On Sunday they attacked from the start of their 60km race and quickly gained a gap on the bunch. Though the A3-Junior race had set off five minutes before them, the two U16 riders soon had them in their sights. They passed them on the second lap of the circuit, doing the same to the A3-Junior breakaway, while being escorted through by the motorbike marshals.
From Hamiltonsbawn in Co Armagh, Dunwoody turned 16-years-old a couple of weeks ago and said he was delighted with his form, adding Stephen Gallagher at Dig Deep Coaching had a been a big influence on him since last year.
Related News
“Stephen is switched on,” said Dunwoody. “It’s been going brilliant. He got me into phenomenal shape for the Youth Tour of Scotland. I didn’t even know how good a shape I was in until I got there.
“We’d have three or four different targets in a year. And whenever we get close to those targets, we start doing very specific high end, quality, work. And then apart from that, it’s also about getting plenty of miles in. And he also likes to implement a lot of stuff off the bike as well; biometrics and being in the gym and stuff.”
Dunwoody is making a name for himself on the home scene. He won the Irish criterium title last year and has been in great form this season, placing 6th overall at the Youth Tour of Scotland, where he was 2nd on two stages and also 2nd in the points classification.
He won all the stages at the U16 Rás Mhaigh Eo Two Day and did the same at the Kanturk Two Day while also winning Rás na nÓg overall.
Looking ahead to the remainder of this year, his own club Shelbourne Orchard CC is hosting the Youth National Road Championships in August, when Dunwoody and team mate Samuel Coleman will be out to impress. There follows the North West Youth Tour in England and then, Ulster selection permitting, the School Games at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, track and road, in September.
