Seth Dunwoody, far right, just being pipped for U23 Paris-Roubaix victory in April, with Sean Kelly saying he understands why people are comparing Dunwoody to him when he was a pro rider (Photo: Laure Boutiot)
Seth Dunwoody was very impressive as he won the elite-U23 road race at the National Road Championships in Co Mayo at the weekend, with Sean Kelly in the crowd looking on and clearly taking it all in.
Kelly told stickybottle Dunwoody had many of the same characteristics he had when he raced, though he said Dunwoody is now better than he was the same age. Kelly also set out what he believed could be Dunwoody's path to winning major classics, and doing so quite quickly.
"He's proved already he's a big talent," Kelly told us just after seeing Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development) win the title race. "He's not only a sprinter, he's a classics man as well. And he has shown that with the performance in the classics this year."
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Kelly was referring to Dunwoody's 2nd places - in very tight finishes - in the U23 versions of Paris-Roubaix and Gent Wevelgem this season. As a junior he also won E3 Saxo Classic (1.1) and was 2nd in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Juniors (1.1).
"I think people are looking at Seth and saying he's like me, a sprinter," continued Kelly. "But I think he's better than me at that age.
"I don't think I was performing like he has been this year when I was the same age. So, he's got the talent and I think there's a lot more to come.”
Dunwoody reacted with a combination of delight and disbelief on the winning the U23-elite men's road race at the Cunga CC National Championships in Mayo (Photo: Caroline Kerley)
In 1976, the year Kelly turned 20-years-old, he won a stage of the Milk Race in Britain and a stage of the Tour of Ireland as well as the U23 Tour of Lombardy.
He also claimed overall victory in the Tour of the North and won almost 20 races in France, before turning pro for Flandria-Velda the next year.
Kelly hit the ground running in 1977, his first year as a pro. He hoovered up 22 podium placings, with three wins, including a stage at Tour de Romandie and he believed Dunwoody could land success quickly as a pro.
"I think he's going to develop quite a bit more,” Kelly said of Dunwoody. “And if he does that, we should see him winning some of the big classics, even though it's very difficult to compare the (U23) races he's doing now and the big pro classics.
"But, as I said, there's definitely plenty of time to improve that stamina. It's all going in the right direction, it's looking very, very good."
No announcements have been made yet - by rider or team - but Dunwoody is tipped to move up to World Tour level next year, staying within the Bahrain Victorious family.
Though an U23 team rider this season, he has spent much of the 2026 campaign stepping up a level to race with the World Tour squad. And that means if he goes to the World Tour team proper next year, he will already have made a partial transition this season.
That's something Kelly sees as really beneficial. And he also insisted staying with Bahrain Victorious - moving from its U23 team to the World Tour set-up - would be a very wise move for the new Irish champion from Armagh.
"He could win races, he could maybe win some of the smaller races at World Tour level," Kelly said when asked what his expectations would be for Dunwoody if he made the move up to the World Tour team next season.
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"With the bigger races, the monuments and the semi-classics, they are obviously very difficult to win. That's especially so when you see the riders that are around now; Pogačar, van Aert, van der Poel, all those types of riders."
Kelly said he understood Dunwoody was ambitious. He clearly wanted to climb the ladder in the sport, to the World Tour team, even though he is only in his second season as an U23 and could race for two more years in the category.
"If that's what you're expecting from yourself in your first year, well that's good," Kelly said of Dunwoody likely fancying himself for success sooner rather than later.
"But if it doesn't happen in that first year, it's not a problem, you have time to develop. And that's what it's about; slowly, over the next year, even two or three years. It's about getting better in those semi-classics and maybe even win some of them.
"It'd be great to win one in your first year as a pro, even in your second year. And then as you go further on, you can maybe aim for the really big ones, the monuments, over the next two to four year period. And he's definitely got time on his side, a lot of time on his side.
"Although, when you are in there, you don't have patience. And that can be a problem, but that's also a good thing, that you want to do it's so quickly.
"But if it doesn't happen in that first or second year, he's only 20 now... So he has loads of time to build that stamina to get there," said Kelly of even the best U23s needing some time to adjust to the heavier load of major pro races.
"It's about the distance in these races. When you're in the under-23s, you're doing those U23 races, and it does take time to build up to the stamina for the longer ones.
"If you go to the big monuments, you're racing for an extra hour maybe even an extra hour-and-a-half, at least, compared to the U23 races. So that can take some time."
Crucial first World Tour contract
Kelly said some very talented U23 classics riders might be transition from an U23 team into a World Tour squad and perhaps be competing with multiple top pro riders in a team’s classics line-up.
If a World Tour team had lots of talented classics riders, it may take the new young signing quite a bit of time to carve out a leadership role in the team.
While the Bahrain Victorious team had classics riders like Milan-Sanremo winner Mohorič on its roster, Kelly believes there would be plenty of opportunity for Dunwoody, which would come immediately
But Kelly doesn't see Dunwoody having that problem if he signs for the Bahrain Victorious World Tour team, which now perhaps has a stronger Grand Tour unit of riders than a classics line-up.
"If he was going into a team with the really big favourites, with a Van Aert already, or riders like that, then that would be a difficult one. But with Bahrain, I think there will be opportunities there, depending on some of the other riders."
Kelly pointed to the fact Bahrain Victorious has Milan-Sanremo winner Matej Mohorič on its roster, as well as emerging Belgian talent Alec Segart, the new Belgian TT champion who also won a stage of the Giro this year.
However, it was about balancing Dunwoody's ambitions with the team's demands, which should not be too complicated, Kelly believes.
"If they are going well on some days, well then maybe there's days that Seth will have to sacrifice for them," he said. "But, all in all, I think it's a good team for him, just to break in during those first two or three years in the World Tour."
