Seth Dunwoody and Davide Donati just before the finish line on the velodrome at the end of U23 Paris Roubaix (Photo: Twila Federica Muzzi)
As Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development) bore down on the finish line at U23 Paris Roubaix, leading the front group and sprinting flat out, he believed he was about to win. But Italian Davide Donati (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Rookies) came up his outside, both of them lunging for the line for a finish that was so close nobody knew who'd won.
"I was just sat with the team and both me and Donati didn't know who'd won for at least five minutes," Dunwoody told stickybottle. "They were checking (the photo finish) and they were mentioning my name more than his over the microphones. So that was building hopes up that maybe I had it. But then they announced he'd won it. There was definitely a tear shed."
It was an agonising end to an otherwise spectacular day for the 19-year-old from Hamiltonsbawn, Co Armagh. He'd taken 2nd place at the end of 159km of racing, including 23 sectors of pavé. It was the best Irish result in the espoirs edition of Paris-Roubaix since a fresh-raced Dubliner called Stephen Roche won it back in 1980. Aidan Duff was also 8th in 1998.
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So given he'd come so close, and faced that agonising wait - while the stadium commentator hyped him as the likely winner - how does Dunwoody feel now?
"What's making it quite hard to deal with at the moment is that I really thought I had it won in that last 25-50 metres. You know, when you're sprinting and looking down and you don't see anyone within a bike's distance...
"I mean, I could feel him coming up the right hand side. I did a pretty good bike throw. I launched the sprint at a good time. I haven't looked at the numbers, the power, for the sprint yet. But I emptied the tank.
“In terms of how I raced in the velodrome, I've no regrets. And Donati is a fair good sprinter, we've had a right few battles, at the likes of Tour de l'Avenir last year."
Going deep to make the move
Dunwoody added when the lead group of 12 he was in entered the velodrome for the big finish, one of the Visma Lease a Bike riders crashed as they turned onto the track. That opened a gap and he gambled on someone else closing it.
Dunwoody, alongside the Lidl Trek riders, found himself riding against that team, Red Bull-Bora Rookies and Visma Lease a Bike, who all had numbers at the front (Photo: Twila Federica Muzzi)
And as the last lap was underway, he launched his sprint coming off the back straight. It was a powerful initial kick and that carried him clear of the others.
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Though he spoke about the physical effort of the kick, and the damage it did, the fact he had the confidence to take charge of this final was perhaps the most impressive moment of his performance.
"I got the gap on Donati and I closed him in for a split second," he explained opening the gallop. "It was just all about holding it to the line. But he must have had some turn of speed to get back up to speed and get around me...."
The finish aside, Dunwoody said his legs were great for the race. He was outnumbered several times as the bigger teams launched attack after attack - Lidl Trek Future Racing, Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Rookies and Visma Lease a Bike.
"They were letting them all get away and I had to kind of make sure I was in all of them," he said of not wanting to miss the key move. "I spent about five or ten minutes there in the deep and I was thinking to myself 'I'm in the shit here'. But then it all died down and you realise everyone is suffering."
The winning scenario began to unfold when a small group eventually got clear just before Mons-en-Pévèle - sector 13 with just about 45km remaining. Dunwoody got across to it and coming out of that sector, on a rise in the road, he attacked, with a group of seven or eight forming. They were away.
But then negative racing began to take hold as riders in the front group were anticipating the arrival of Donati, who was trying to get across to them, with others for company.
The Donati group eventually made contract just before Carrefour de l'Arbre - sector 20, with about 15km remaining. And that's how it stayed to the finish.
A good sign
Though Dunwoody was disappointed with the outcome - especially having to wait for the final verdict on who won – he said he was now more determined than ever to take some wins in the weeks ahead.
Two years ago he placed 12th in the junior edition of the race and his love for Paris-Roubaix generally was his main introduction to cycling 10 years ago. And so he had prepared for this race since the start of the season, and clearly executed very well.
"It's a really good sign, even for the likes of the team and my new coach, that things are working well," he said of going in hoping to win such a major event and performing as he did. "It's a good stepping stone for the future and it gives me confidence, hopefully, for going into elite Paris-Roubaix in the future.
"Obviously, I knew I had good legs going into it. But to be able to get away with no punctures or crashes is satisfying. And to be able to get into the velodrome, and your sprinting for the win, that's a privilege to be honest."
