Seth Dunwoody, the 16-year-old Irish rider who has moved up to the junior ranks this year, has put in a very strong ride in his first stage race in Europe for new team Cannibal-Victorious U19 Development. He came away from the event with a classification winner's jersey after a great performance in the finale of yesterday's closing stage.
While a very strong group forged clear in the finale, on a course with 15 cobbled sections, Dunwoody was able to blast across on his own and join the leaders. They went on to share stage and general classification honours, with the Irish teenager in that mix after showing real class, despite finding himself waist-deep in water at one point.
The race - Guido Reybrouck Classic (2.1) in Damme, West Flanders - began with a plan flat 10.9km TT on Saturday before a tough road race on Sunday. After a solid TT to start with, Dunwoody made the winning breakaway in the final of yesterday's road race stage to take 6th on the day. That put him 7th overall and winner of the young rider classification; a tidy return for his efforts.
Advertisement
Yesterday's stage was 121.4km, starting and finishing in Damme. It was pan flat course but with 15 sections of cobbles. While Dunwoody came good in the end, his race got off to a poor start as he crashed in the run-in to the first cobbled section after about 10km.
With the riders fighting for position going into that sector, the speed was ramped up and a crash occurred just ahead of the Irish rider. Dunwoody darted left and ended up in a flood ditch, waist-high in water after heavy rain.
He quickly got back on his bike and began the chase back into the peloton. And while he regained the group after about 20km, it wasn't until about 30km to go that he saw the from of the bunch again, as it was so strung out due to the pace and the wind.
By the time Dunwoody got back to the front on the 8km finishing circuit, an eight-man group had gone clear. Some of the favourites were in that, including British international Matthew Brennan (Fensham Howes-MAS Design), Australian international, and junior national champion, Oscar Chamberlain (AG2R Citroën U19 Team) and Britain's Jacob Bush (Fensham Howes-MAS Design).
As some of those riders had fared very well in Saturday's TT, they were threatening the yellow jersey of Sente Sentjens (ACROG-Tormans), who rode the junior Worlds in Australia on the Belgium team last year. As a result, the ACROG-Tormans team went to the front of the bunch in a bid to close the gap and protect the race lead. Dunwoody sat in behind them as the pace was ramped up and the gap to the breakaway began to close.
Related News
However, just as it looked like the breakaway was caught, the yellow jersey's team eased off the gas with just over two laps of the finishing circuit remaining. When they paused their chase, four of the riders in the breakaway decided to persist and began opening the gap again.
At that point, eventual stage winner Steffen De Schuyteneer (AG2R Citroën U19 Team) jumped from the peloton and caught the leaders. Dunwoody decided to try and do the same. He attacked hard and bridged the 15-second gap in the space of less than two minutes, a fantastic effort by the young Irishman with about 15km to go.
He then found himself in a six-man breakaway with three AG2R Citroën U19 Team riders - Belgian international De Schuyteneer, French junior road race champion Antoine L'Hote and Australian TT champion Chamberlain. Belgian rider Lars Vanden Heede (Crabbé Toitures-CC Chevigny) was also present, along with British international Brennan.
With about 3km to go, the front group broke up. De Schuyteneer got away to win the stage by four seconds from Vanden Heede, with L'Hote 3rd at 12 seconds. Then came the next three, right on L'Hote's back wheel. Brennan took 4th from Chamberlin, with Dunwoody 6th; all on the same time. As the main field was another 21 seconds back, Dunwoody had gained enough time to move up to 7th overall and winner of the first-year junior classification.
Brennan emerged overall winner from Chamberlin, both on the same time. Stage 2 winner, De Schuyteneer, was 3rd at just two seconds. Then came stage 1 TT winner, Sentjens (ACROG-Tormans), in 4th at 18 seconds. Dunwoody was 30 seconds off winner Brennan in 7th place overall.
The race began with a plan flat 10.9km TT on Saturday on a breezy day. Sente Sentjens (ACROG-Tormans), who rode the junior Worlds in Australia on the Belgium team last year, claimed victory by 13 seconds from Britain's Brennan, with Australian TT champion, Chamberlain, in 3rd, also at 13 seconds.
Dunwoody placed 23rd of the 148-rider field, and was 43 seconds off the winning time. That TT performance left Dunwoody 5th overall in the first-year junior classification, just 19 seconds off leader Senna Remijn (ACROG-Tormans). However, the gains the Irish rider made on Sunday shot him up the final standings.
