Eddie Dunbar sole Irish finisher at junior World Champs after intense battle in Florence

The bunch at the Junior Worlds today; with Eddie Dunbar finishing but Mark Downey and Dylan Foley forced out.

By Jimmy Lally

The Irish team of Eddie Dunbar, Dylan Foley and Mark Downey found it tough going in the Junior Men’s Road Race at the World Championships today, Saturday.

Both Foley and Downey abandoned the race on the penultimate of five laps of a grueling 16.6 kilometre circuit around Florence, having been distanced by what remained of the peloton. The duo were pulled out by the race organisers as part of an established practice for distanced riders at major international events.

Junior Tour of Ireland winner Dunbar was the Irishman for whom the lumpy 139.65-kilometre course was best suited, and though he managed to complete the race he arrived well down on solo winner Mathieu Van Der Poel (Netherlands), coming in 17:44 behind the Dutchman.

It was a valiant battle from Cork rider Dunbar, who in an impressive year has bagged the National Junior Time-Trial title as well as the Dungarvan GP, the Aquablue Classic and the Coachford Classic. But today’s race was on a whole other level of difficulty, and a tough learning experience that will serve the first-year junior well in future.

Downey, who was 48^th in the Junior Men’s Time-Trial on Tuesday, is another first-year junior who suffered today. Now the challenge for the Banbridge rider is to bounce back from today’s experience and begin his second season in the junior ranks as a stronger competitor.

A flat 57.2-kilometre ride from Montecatini Terme to Florence opened today’s race, with the riders then forced to tackle five laps of a hilly circuit in the environs of the old city. The circuit began with an ascent of the testy 4.4-kilometre Fiesole climb, followed by a descent to the foot of the steep, 600-metre Via Salviati ramp.

Once that ramp was scaled, the race would conclude with a largely downhill five-kilometre run to the finish.

Marius Sylta (Norway) sparked the day’s initial break, and he was quickly joined by Facundo Crisafulli (Argentina), Michal Schlegel (Czech Republic) and Dzmitry Zhyhunou (Belarus). After 33.5 kilometres, 11 more riders including Seid Lizde (Italy) and Daniel Martinez (Colombia) had managed to ride over.

This escape group completed the opening section with a lead of five minutes over a peloton that contained Downey, Foley, and Dunbar. When the road ramped upwards, those who hadn’t brought their climbing legs were put in difficulty, and Foley was among those distanced on the first lap after being forced to chase back on following a mechanical coming into Florence.

Downey was the next Irishman to be dropped, with the Banbridge man falling behind the peloton on the second circuit.

Out front, Czech rider Schlegel was the first to attack, and he completed the second lap with a lead of 58 seconds over his chasers, with the rest of a peloton that included Dunbar 3:05 behind.

It was on the third lap that the pace really began to ratchet up, with the peloton shattering to pieces and Dunbar being catapulted out the rear. The Colombian Daniel Martinez bridged across to Schlegel from the chasing group, and before long he found himself at the head of the race with Italy’s Seid Lizde.

Lizde was dropped on the fourth lap, and he was replaced up top by the Frenchman Franck Bonnamour, who bridged across from the greatly thinned-out pack. Bonnamour and Martinez began the final circuit with an advantage of 14 seconds, and gradually their lead began to stretch out.

Bonnamour danced clear of his companion at the top of the Fiesole and set off in search of glory on his own. However, it was not to be for the Frenchman.

For the super-strong Van Der Poel had managed to get away from the pursuing group, and on the Via Salviati he was able to leave Bonnamour trailing in his wake.