As the year draws to a close it's a great time to take stock and assess Irish cycling over the past 12 months. In this extensive piece we've picked what we believe were the biggest moments in 2019.
Some were great while others are included in here because they were low points. One especially tragic event was the death after a race crash of Sean Lynch, and we remember Sean and his family at this time.
At home and abroad there were many fantastic achievements by Irish cyclists on the track and on the road.
We've listed our picks in chronological order but the biggest achievement by an Irish cyclist for us this year was Nicolas Roche taking the Vuelta race lead.
It's a rare and special event when an Irishman leads a Grand Tour, something that Roche is the only Irish ride to achieve - twice - since Sean Kelly won the Vuelta in 1988.
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Irish cycling's biggest moments of 2019
EvoPro Racing established
The Irish Continental team was established at the start of the year. They filled a void left by the departures from the pro scene of ProContinental team Aqua Blue Sport and Continental team An Post-Chainreaction. Not only was the team’s establishment very welcome in the tough financial climate in cycling at present; it also signed numerous Irish riders. Daire Feeley, Aaron Kearney and Cormac McGeough, Matthew Teggart and Mark Downey all rode for the team this year.
Mark Downey historic Worlds bronze
In winning a bronze medal in the points race at the Worlds in Poland back in March Mark Downey made a bit of Irish sporting history. He’s the only Irish cyclist to win medals at junior, U23 and elite level in a major international championships. He was on the podium at Europeans several times as a junior and U23, and has now medaled at the Worlds as an elite; an incredible achievement in itself. Downey, still aged just 23 years, has been Ireland’s most prolific track rider by far since former world champion Martyn Irvine hung up his wheels.
Lydia Boylan’s Worlds medal
Already a medalist at elite Europeans during her career, Boylan took a brilliant silver in the points race in Poland in March and went very close to winning the title. The Dubliner became only the second Irish women to medal at the Worlds; Caroline Ryan the first when taking bronze – also in the points race – in Melbourne in 2012. A three-time Irish road champion and Ireland’s only female rider to take a pro road race win, Boylan’s Worlds medal added to an already fantastic career, which still has a long way to run.
Team pursuiters' Irish record
The team pursuit formation was a talent transfer creation and after suffering a very hard debut at the Europeans in August, 2018, they came back in great style to break the national record several times. During the qualifiers at the Worlds in Poland in March they clocked a time of 4:29.148s for the 4km event. That was more than 2.5 seconds quicker than the previous Irish record of 4:31.66s. The line-up showed their class and also no small measure of mental resilience in coming back from a tough start to their international career just months earlier. Later in the year they went on to lower their own national record again; down to 4:25.389. That was set by Mia Griffin, Lara Gillespie, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe.
Sam Bennett’s Paris-Nice stage 3 win
The quality of a big sprint win is based mainly on the status of the race. But the opposition also has to be factored into the equation. Strictly speaking Sam Bennett’s win on the final stage of UAE Tour was his best of the season in terms of the opposition he beat – Fernando Gaviria 2nd, Caleb Ewan 3rd, Alexander Kristoff 4th and Elia Viviani 5th. And his two stage wins at the Vuelta were the biggest victories of the year in terms of race status; the Vuelta one of only three Grand Tours in the sport. But when race status and quality of opposition are both factored into Bennett’s 13 wins this year, his win on stage 3 of Paris-Nice in March was, for us, his best of the season. At Paris-Nice he saw off real quality to win stage 3; Ewan, Fabio Jakobsen, Daniel McLay, Bryan Coquard, Kristoff, Arnaud Demare and Dylan Groenewegen in that order. Bennett obviously had an incredible time of it this year. And there’s a case to be made for any one of about five of his wins being his best of the year. We’ve picked this one as his best, though it’s not his only win that features in our 2019 list.
Ben Healy wins Rás Mumhan
Coming out of the junior ranks and into the U23-elite scene is often a testing transition. However, Ben Healy – the Irish junior TT champion in 2018 – got off to a good start in securing a place in Le Col Wiggins; a sure sign of the potential others saw in him. Healy was an automatic pick for the Irish U23 immediately international racing started in 2019 and went to Rás Mumhan in April having placed 11th in U23 Gent Wevelgem. He made the winning breakaways on the opening two stages in Kerry and then took flight with Mark Dowling on the queen stage over the Coom an Easpaigh cat 1 climb. That put the then 18-year-old into yellow which he retained on the final stage. It was a very strong ride by Healy on a hard weekend’s racing when he rose to the top every day to secure a confident victory made all the most impressive by his youth. Depending on what happens next in his career – and it may be a lot – the 2019 Easter weekend in Kerry may be pointed to as the start of something big in Irish cycling.
Eddie Dunbar’s Yorkshire attack
This was a real breakthrough ride for Eddie Dunbar, though he had impressed long before this outing at the Tour de Yorkshire back in May. He was in the select front group of just 17 riders the previous day and so went into the final stage – some 175km from Halifax to Leeds – in 9th place overall with his Team Ineos team mate Chris Lawless leading the race. On the final climb of the day, after the race had split to pieces, Chris Froome attacked and pulled about 10 riders clear but could not get away from them. Then Dunbar made his move and really lit it up; scorching away from the select group and catching and dropping the three riders who remained out front from the early break. The CCC Team of Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet went on the front in a bid to close down Dunbar but weren’t able. It fell to van Avermaet to attack after Dunbar and when he did Lawless was on his wheel; that duo catching the Irishman. The three leaders took the spoils; van Avermaet taking the stage, Lawless placing 2nd and Dunbar 3rd. Lawless won overall from van Avermaet with Dunbar 3rd overall. Dunbar spent 20km on the front at the end of a very hard stage; he and van Avermaet looking by far the strongest. While the Irish rider was later 3rd in a stage of the Giro, the Yorkshire ride was his best of the season because of the manner of his attacking.
McLaughlin equals Kelly in Shay Elliott
Before this year’s edition of the Shay Elliott Memorial in May, a teenage Sean Kelly was the last rider to take back-to-back wins in the race. However, having won the event in 2018 alongside team mate Matteo Cigala, Ronan McLaughlin went on to take victory again this year in the colours of Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo. The race is perhaps the most prestigious on the Irish amateur scene and winning it twice for the first time since Kelly, was one of the special achievements this year on the domestic scene.
Sean Lynch’s tragic death
In May Sean Lynch tragically died from injuries he sustained while racing in Co Wexford. He was critically ill in hospital for a number of days after he crashed at the Frank O’Rourke Memorial in Camaross promoted by Wexford Wheelers Cycling Club. Sadly his injuries were too severe and despite efforts to save him he passed away. The death of the Navan Road Club man, who formerly rode for Drogheda Wheelers, was a shocking event. That Sean was such an affable and popular rider simply served to underline the sheer scale of the tragedy.
Rás Tailteann missing from calendar
The eight-day event had run every year since the 1950s but this year it was missing from the domestic calendar for the first time. It was a huge blow and the lowest point of the season. Though those who have run it for decades did all they could to keep the event on the road no sponsor could be found and so Rás 2019 never happened.
Brilliant National Road Championships
The National Road Championships were a huge success this year in that they produced fantastic champions. Run over a testing course that brought the road races through Derry City each lap, Sam Bennett and Alice Sharpe triumphed in the elite events. Darragh O’Mahony took the U23 crown while Maeve Gallagher and Tom Moriarty won brilliant junior title races. It was a feast of racing that produced first class champions. Mark Dowling also put in a great ride in the elite men’s race in staying with Bennett and Dunbar as long as he did. And in the elite women’s race breakthrough rider Imogen Cotter and the evergreen Katharine Smyth put in epic performances for silver and bronze.
Dan Martin’s Tour GC hopes ended
On stage 9 of the Tour de France Dan Martin was dropped early on the final climb, the Col du Tourmalet. He lost over five minutes to the main contenders and his general classification race was over. For the previous three editions he had finished in the top 10 into Paris. But his climbing on the Tourmalet, which fell well below his own standards, compounded what had been a lack luster season to that point. On the previous day’s TT in Pau he had lost between one and two minutes to almost all of the main contenders. And when those losses were added to his Tourmalet performance, he was out of the GC battle.
No Irish team in Tour de l’Avenir
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Ireland had a national U23 team in the French race in previous seasons, when the riders excelled and competed on the flat and in the mountains; Mark Downey and Eddie Dunbar both finishing 2nd on stages. However, this year there were no green jerseys in the peloton; something which we hope to see put right in the seasons to come.
Ben Healy’s l’Avenir win
In the absence of an Irish national team in the race, Ben Healy and Darragh O’Mahony secured places in the UCI composite team. Healy really made the most of his chance when he won a stage; the first Irish win since Nicolas Roche’s victory and yellow jersey for a stage during the 2006 edition. On the sodden stage 5 back in August, Healy (18) got away in the breakaway on the 158.9km from Espalion to Saint-Julien-Chapteuil. He then attacked his fellow escapees late in the race, powering clear of them to win solo.
Lara Gillespie track Worlds medal
Having already won a European title in 2018 and taken three silver medals at the Continental championships earlier this year, in August Lara Gillespie took a Worlds medal. The Irish teenager rode her way into the individual pursuit bronze medal race at the World Junior Track Championships in Frankfurt, Germany. She came up against one of the Russians and beat her to secure the bronze in the event, just days after a crash in the scratch race. It was Ireland’s first ever medal by a woman at a World Junior Track Championships.
Keown & McCambridge at Junior Tour
With a large international field featuring some of the best riders in the world, the national team was up against it at the Junior Tour of Ireland in July. However, Nathan Keown held the yellow jersey for a period and Kevin McCambridge ran out 2nd overall behind American winner Nicolas Rivard. With aggressive riding Keown went on the attack and gained significant time on two stages, including stage 4 when he took the race lead. He may have lost it on the hilly finish the following day but his team mate McCambridge very nearly took yellow, losing out to eventual overall winner Rivard by just six seconds. Americans Quinn Simmons and Magnus Sheffield were in the race and would go on to claim gold and bronze in the junior road race at the Worlds in Yorkshire the following month. However, the talent in the field was much deeper than those two star riders.
Nicolas Roche taking Vuelta lead
For us, this was Irish cycling’s biggest moment of the year. It was only the second time since Sean Kelly’s Vuelta win in May, 1988, that an Irishman has worn a leader’s jersey at a Grand Tour. Nicolas Roche held the Vuelta lead for one day in 2013 when riding for Team Saxo-Tinkoff and did it again this year; riding for Team Sunweb and wearing the jersey for three stages. He said a wave of emotion came over him as he put the jersey on. He got into the winning breakaway on stage 2 and claimed 2nd on the day, seizing the iconic red jersey.
Sam Bennett winning Vuelta stage 3
On the first stage that Roche wore the Vuelta leader’s red jersey, Sam Bennett won the stage. The only two Irish riders on the race were the toast of the Spanish Grand Tour. Bennett beat Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) and Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott). His sprint win combined with Roche’s leader’s jersey to hark back to the Kelly and Roche glory days of the 1980s and early 1990s for Irish cycling fans.
Roche crashing out of Vuelta
This awful crash was one of the biggest moments in Irish cycling this year – for all the wrong reasons – because it came so soon after Roche had worn the race leader’s jersey for three stages. The crash also robbed him of the chance of further results in the Vuelta; a race he always rides well in and for which he was in top form this year. He was soon diagnosed with a broken kneecap from the crash; an injury that ruled him out of the World Championships in Yorkshire. Indeed, he wouldn’t race again for the rest of the season. But having helped save Team Sunweb’s season with his stint in a Grand Tour leader’s jersey, he was offered another two year contract with the World Tour outfit.
Third Worlds gold for Dunlevy-McCrystal
Ireland’s Golden Girls, Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal, continued their dominance with a third UCI Paracycling World Championships TT title in September. It was the third year in succession they came away from the Worlds with the iconic rainbow bands. And in Emmen, Holland, they beat all comers by a very significant margin. In the silver medal position the Kiwi pairing of Hannah van Kampen and Emma Foy were almost one minute down on their Irish rivals. Dunlevy and McCrystal put 55 seconds into their nearest challengers; a huge margin over a race distance 31.2km. That they have been world champions for three seasons running is nothing short of epic.
Maura Claffey Laragh Classic win
Claffey has been one of the most improved elite riders of recent years and one of the most aggressive. All she lacked was a big win and it came in the Laragh Classic in September; going for broke on a hard course and having too much for the opposition. She finished solo, beating then National Road Series leader Grace Young into 2nd place with Katharine Smyth rounding out the podium. She is one to watch in 2020, with another winter of development under her belt and starting the season in the knowledge she can win big.
Conor Hennebry retains National Road Series
In claiming the National Road Series for a second time this year, Hennebry did something only the best of the best on the domestic scene could manage. He may have had a very good team around him but also played the loyal team mate when he needed to as others in Dan Morrissey-MIG-Pactimo got themselves into race-winning opportunities and even into the series leader’s jersey at times. Hennebry also claimed victories on some of the hardest races; the Des Hanlon and Laragh Classic.
Gallagher & Gillespie Worlds crash
This crash was a bitter pill for Irish cycling fans and the two young riders it claimed from the biggest race of the year. Maeve Gallagher and Lara Gillespie had ridden incredibly well to survive in the front group of the Worlds junior road race; especially Gallagher as she had earlier crashed and been forced into a long chase. In the finale the two Irish riders could be seen fighting for a place at the front of the group. However, before they got a chance to show what they could do in the final sprint to the line, a crash inside the final 200 metres took them out. They both got up and fought on to finish; a battered Gallagher on her bike as Gillespie was forced to carry hers across the line. However, while their tenacity in the face of such adversity won them many fans, the crash left a depressing sense of what might have been.
Shannon McCurley Europeans silver
Ireland’s sole track Olympian at the Rio 2016 Games, Shannon McCurley made a successful transition from sprinting to endurance with silver in the scratch race at the European Championships in Holland in October. The Australia-based Irish international had switched in recent years from sprinting and keirin racing to the longer events on the track. And in winning her silver medal at elite level in the Europeans, that transition can now be declared a real success.
Felix English World Cup gold
Having won some great races when he competed as a professional on the road, Felix English got his hands in the air again in November, but this time on the track. The seasoned Irish international proved by far the best in the scratch race at the UCI World Cup in Glasgow; gaining laps and then showing great power and a killer instinct at the finish. He also took his victory as the Olympic qualification fight is really hotting up, resulting in intense and fiercely competitive racing for every placing across track racing. European scratch race champion Sebastian Mora was the only other rider in the field to gain two laps, meaning English had to beat the big name in the finale, which he did.
Lydia Gurley World Cup medal
Lydia Gurley pulled off one of the best results of her career in claiming a medal at the UCI World Cup in New Zealand three weeks ago. The Irish rider won bronze in the scratch race, which she adds to her silver in the Madison – with Lydia Boylan – two years ago. Gurley claimed her latest medal just a couple of hours after riding the Madison; a race the Irish are hoping to qualify for the Olympics in. However, despite that added pressure she managed to take a fantastic personal result and a career highlight for any rider.
Rás Tailteann returns
While the absence of the race from the roads of Ireland in May was a real low point for Irish cycling, the end of the year was marked by news Rás Tailteann is coming back. It will be held next June over five stages and without a UCI ranking. A new promotions group has stepped in to keep the show on the road in 2020. But the long-term organisers are still looking for a sponsor with a view to running it again as a UCI event in 2021. The next six to 12 months will see the future of the race become clearer, but the main thing is that Rás Tailteann is back on the road for 2020.
Bennett’s omission from RTE Awards
He won 13 races this year and was one of the best sprinters in global pro cycling from the start of the year to the end. But that still wasn’t enough to make the short list for RTE Sportsperson of the Year. It was a very disappointing turn of events and a sign that cycling success still does not rate highly in Ireland. However, a stage win or three from Irish riders in the Tour de France next year would change all of that.
Conor Dunne retires from pro cycling
The tallest man to wear the colours of Irish cycling champion, and one of the most popular, Conor Dunne has said his pro cycling career is coming to an end. He won’t race next year after spending a six-year pro career riding for An Post-Chainreaction, JLT Condor, Aqua Blue Sport and Israel Cycling Academy. He won Irish titles on the road; in the elite road race in 2018 and the TT U23 crown earlier in his career. Dunne will be missed by the Irish cycling community, though hopefully he remains involved in the sport.
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