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Xeno Young crosses the line absolutely spent at the end of this morning's junior men's TT at the UCI World Championships in Doha, Qatar (Photo: Sean Rowe)
By Brian Canty
First-year juniors Ronan Tuomey and Xeno Young both took a huge step forward in their blossoming cycling careers in the Middle East today, putting in very decent performances in their first World Road Championships in Qatar.
Given winner Brandon McNulty of the US was almost a minute faster than the man who finished third; Tuomey's and Young’s deficits of 3’39” and 3’40” were more than respectable.
They were 42nd and 43rd on the day but given their inexperience of racing at this level and in this heat, only positives can be taken from their stepping onto the world stage.
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In all, 83 riders competed for the gold medal with some over 10 minutes down – though, it’s worth noting that riders placed between 10th and 50th were separated by only 2’15”.
And that’s a gap both Tuomey and Young will strive to bridge in the next year.
Ronan Tuomey is one of the brightest up and coming Irish stars and the young Corkman coped very well in the challenging conditions (Picture: Sean Rowe)
Young rolled down the ramp as one of the early runners, settling into his rhythm and maintaining a good tempo throughout.
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His finishing time of 38:23 had him as high as 26th, with Tuomey then posting 38:22 for the 28.9-kilometre contest.
That left him in 25th for a time but as many riders were yet to start when he finished he naturally slipped down the standings and ended the day 42nd.
Young, who has come to cycling from rowing, is inexperienced but has shown great raw talent with his TT times this year and his 4th place in the junior pursuit at the European Track Championships in the summer.
“It’s an amazing experience just knowing so many people are watching, especially on the live stream,” he said of the Worlds after his ride today.
“My sister texted me this morning saying that she almost missed her bus to school because she was watching it. I’m in lower sixth in school, and I think one of my school teachers had it on too.
The victorious McNulty knew he had it won the minute he crossed the line (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Young continued: “From the track and the Euros I thought I knew what to expect mentally, with the nerves and stuff, but this morning my nerves were worse than ever.
“They just kicked in and I realised that ‘whoa, I’m actually doing this!’ Last night I was sitting down with Nico talking about race strategies. It’s an amazing experience!”
Tuomey, who is rapidly shaping up in the mould of Eddie Dunbar and Michael O’Loughlin, said the 28.9km test was relentless.
“The course is completely flat, one or two tiny drags over a river, but you wouldn’t even count them,” he said.
“It’s pretty technical, but there are only 3 places where you actually have to brake. While the results mightn’t be too spectacular, this is a great experience just seeing what the level is at.
“It’s a different level of racing, I got to race McNulty at the Nations Cup and he was 40seconds faster than the field, so I knew he would be fast today. It really makes me look forward to next year, provided I get selected.”
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