Dillon Corkery and Adam Ward of the Irish team were among
the survivors today in the U23 men's race at the European Road Championships in
Italy. Just 67 of the 148 starters finished the 133.6km race.
Aside from Corkery and Ward, both of whom rode the recent
Tour de l'Avenir, Ireland was also represented today by Aaron Wade, Matthew
Devins, Kevin McCambridge and Ireland debutant Devin Shortt. Unfortunately
those four Irish riders were among the non-finishers.
The races in Trento are being run on a 13.2km course with a 3.6km climb - averaging 4.7 per cent gradient - to reduce the peloton each lap. Officials have been stopping dropped riders from continuing out onto the next lap once they have been distanced.
Today the finale was dominated by an eight-man select group which got away up and over the final climb. It held off the remains of the peloton all the way to the line. Belgian rider Thibau Nys, son of cyclocross legend Sven Nys, won the sprint from the breakaway to claim the U23 road race title.
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The 18-year-old first-year U23 rider – who has already been junior world cyclocross champion – took victory from Italy’s Filippo Baroncini and Spain’s Juan Ayuso; the latter the Baby Giro winner who is already racing for UAE Team Emirates.
The breakaway group was 19 seconds up on an 18-man
chasing group on the line. Ireland’s Corkery was in the next group on the road
- six riders, 1:31 down - and placed 29th.
Ward finished in the largest group on the road, exactly six minutes down and placing 53rd, on a day when even finishing was a real challenge.
More to come.
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