David Gaffney has come away from his opening weekend of the season in France with a podium finish but it was the manner of the Irish junior's riding, not just his results, that suggests he has moved up a gear over the winter.
Though the 2025 campaign is only just getting going, with a long season stretched out in front of us, Gaffney (Team 31 Specialized) was full of riding and took the initiative at several key junctures in both races he lined out in.
Indeed, in yesterday's Ronde Bessieraine the small breakaway he was in for well over half the race probably would have been caught but for the Irish rider taking it on on the final climb and pulling out the gap once more.
Cameron Henry (Academy Région Sud pb Giant), Adam Ward (Academy Région Sud pb Giant), Hugh Óg Mulhearne (AS Villemur U19) and Darragh Byrne (AS Villemur U19) were all also in action at the weekend alongside Gaffney.
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In the end yesterday, in a three-up sprint after 84km of undulating racing, Gaffney was denied victory by Alban Picard (CC Marmande 47 Juniors). The Irish rider's team mate, Lukas Albespy, rounded out the podium just two seconds down on the winner and runner-up.
It was Albespy, from France, who made the first move that would form the breakaway, getting clear between the 20km and 30km marker. Gaffney then attacked over the climb on the circuit, with about 30km completed, and was joined by eventual winner Picard.
That trio then formed what proved to be the three-rider race-winning move and worked well for about 55km. Though their gap came down on the last lap, as low as 30 seconds approaching the climb, Gaffney hit it hard on that ascent and the gap went back out to about 50 seconds.
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It had come right down again, to just 12 seconds, by the finish, but the leading three made it all the way to sprint it out; Picard just edging out former Dungarvan CC rider Gaffney.
"I thought we were going to get caught on the last lap but I put in a good stint up the climb and brought it back to about 50 seconds," he told stickybottle. "Then it was a sprint finish between the three of us. It went well, I felt good. It was a good weekend overall."
Darragh Byrne (A.S.Villemur U19) was 48th yesterday, at 6:26, Cameron Henry (Academy Région Sud pb Giant) 56th at 6:32, Adam Ward (Academy Région Sud pb Giant) 57th, also at 6:32, and Hugh Óg Mulhearne (A.S.Villemur U19) 64th at 8:45.
The Irish teenagers, save for Henry, got their weekend off to a start at Mapei Classic in France on Saturday, when the race was stopped for a prolonged period due to crashes just after the neutralised zone.
When it finally got going again, and a breakaway went clear, Gaffney was among the riders taking the initiative in the final on the front to bring the escapees back.
Gaffney finished in 12th position, after 96.5km of racing, some 1:26 behind the winner, France’s Baptiste Durand-Tonnerre (A.S.Villemur U19).
In a field of 160 riders, 64 were outside the time limit and 29 were listed as non-finisher, though all of the Irish riders involved got a full solid day of racing into their legs and made the cut.
Adam Ward (Academy Région Sud pb Giant) was 30th at 2:49 with Hugh Óg Mulhearne (A.S.Villemur U19) 51st at 3:26 and Darragh Byrne (A.S.Villemur U19) 52nd, also at 3:26.
