Dunbar and the other Kanturk lads are interviewed at the South African Schoolboy Championships
An Irish team from Kanturk CC has begun its trip to South Africa in great style by riding the South African National Schoolboy Championships and placing riders in the top ten in both the U16 and U14 races.
In both events Kanturk placed a rider in the decisive breakaway, with Eddie Dunbar mixing it with the best of them up the road in the U16 race and Dillon Corkery similarly getting into the winning move in the U14 race.
Dunbar rode very well in his 70km race in blistering heat in Durban, attacking the breakaway at times and being one of the main animators of the race. When the breakaway split towards the end of the hilly race four riders pulled clear and fought it out for the medals.
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Dunbar, who coped very well with the heat and the much longer distance than he is used to racing in Ireland, managed ninth place in the end. He said afterwards he was pleased with his performance, adding it was the toughest race he had ever ridden.
Joshua Francis was next best of the Irish in the U16 race in 27th place, while Cathal Clarke was 31st.
In the U14 race, Dillon Corkery wasn’t afraid to have a go and also got up the road. At one point as the head of the race fragmented, he set off on his own in pursuit of the leaders before finally finishing a very good seventh place.
The riders are in South Africa to ride the TRAC Tour, a five stage event for schoolboys. They were granted special permission to ride the South African Championships and did so just after their arrival on their long haul flight from Ireland.
The TRAC Tour unfolds over four days from March 29th to April 1st. It features stages of 85km, 68km, 56km, a 45-minute criterium and a 20km TT.
South African U16 Boys Championships, 70km in Durban, Sunday March 25th
1) Keegan Gridlestone 2:01:47
2) Kent Main 2:01:47
3) Stefann de Bod 2:01:47
4) Ivan Venter 2:01:54
5) Nicol Carstens 2:01:58
9) Eddie Dunbar 2:02:35
27) Joshua Francis 2:12:01
31) Cathal Clarke 2:14:07
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(We only got the top 41 in the race, not sure if that was the full list of finishers but we will update that later when we get confirmation)
U14 Race
Dillon Corkery was seventh
Dillon Corkery chases the breakaway in the U14 race on his way to seventh
Cathal Clark just after his finish in the U16 race
The Kanturk lads (far right) on the line in the U16 race
The Kanturk lads and support crew before the start. The riders are: Dylan O’Brien, Eddie Dunbar, Jeremy Lawlor, Joshua Francis, Dillon Corkery and Cathal Clarke
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