Whatever the future holds for Ben Healy and Ryan Mullen - and it will hopefully produce some very special days - they both carved their names into Irish Olympic history today with phenomenal performances in the men's road race in Paris.
With just two places qualified by Ireland this time around, that did not stop Mullen and Healy taking the race by the scruff of the neck; both going on the attack and riding a race that was as physically impressive as it was tactically astute.
At the end of it all - when 272km into the shadow of the Eiffel Tower were completed - they had combined to put on the best ever display by an Irish cyclist at an Olympic Games cycling event and took the best ever result.
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On another day they may have taken a medal; Healy proving so strong right into the final after 90km on the attack before placing 10th. For his part, Mullen rode a blinder in the road race in support of Healy's chances.
Mullen got up the road only for Healy to catch him and then buried himself to drag Healy - and Elia Viviani (Italy) away from the clutches of a chasing group that drew to within five seconds until Mullen powered away.
??? | Madouas geeft er een klap op, Ben Healy & Co reageren. De finale is begonnen! ?? #Paris2024
? Stream Paris 2024 op HBO Max pic.twitter.com/22dVOAeaPe
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) August 3, 2024
It was a breathtaking effort from the two Irish riders; neither entertaining any sense of fearing, or being intimidated by, the bigger nations. Instead, they seized the initiative early and put in an astounding performance that can hopefully inspire future national teams.
And though Mullen sacrificed himself so completely for Healy, he still finished the race, in 60th place. His 12th place in last weekend's TT and Healy's TT today are the best ever placings in road events by Irish riders at the OIympics - Ciaran Power and Dan Martin both finished 13th in the road races in Athens 2004 and Rio 2016.
But, Healy's final finishing position aside, it was the manner of the performance - from both riders - that will linger in the memory for very many years.
After an early breakaway had established a gap over 15 minutes, Mullen went on the attack as the race dipped inside the 200km to go marker. He joined forces with Elia Viviani (Italy), Gleb Syritsa (Russia) and Georgios Bouglas (Greece).
They were chasing the breakaway of: Achraf Ed Doghmy (Morocco), Charles Kagimu (Uganda), Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (Thailand), Christopher Rougier-Lagane (Mauritius) and Eric Manizabayo (Rwanda).
Not long after the halfway point of the 272km race, Mullen’s chasing group caught the breakaway. Not long after the two groups merged, Eric Manizabayo (Rwanda), Thanakhan Chaiyasombat (Thailand) and Achraf Ed Doghmy (Morocco) were dropped.
That left Mullen (Ireland), Viviani (Italy) – by far the two strongest in the move – along with Georgios Bouglas (Greece), Chrisopher Rougier-Lagane (Mauritius) and Charles Kagimu (Uganda) still at the front of the race.
The action was headed into the hillier terrain with about 105km to go. The gap at that point between the breakaway and the peloton was 2:40.
With 94km to go, Mullen was pushing on at the front, with Greece’s Bouglas being dropped. Viviani was becoming animated, remonstrating with some of the others in the breakaway for not contributing enough. However, the Italian and Irish riders were simply too strong for the others.
A celebration worthy of a double Olympic champion ???
Remco, you are incredible ⭐#Olympics #PARIS2024 pic.twitter.com/t9o6rIh0Q3
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 3, 2024
Back in the bunch, with 92km to go, Healy was on the front of the bunch, in the mix as the French were making efforts to get clear. Though Healy marked the first French move, moments later the Irishman went himself on a climb.
However, while he persisted with that attack, and then loitered near the front as others also tried, those efforts came to nothing at that point of the race; still with just under 90km to go.
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That period of attacking saw the breakaway’s group slashed to 1:40, with Mullen and Viviani dropping the other riders. As Mullen and Viviani pulled clear, Healy was on the attack again back in the peloton – with 89km to go – and managed to pull clear, chasing Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan).
Mullen eventually dropped everyone in the breakaway bar Viviani - that duo head and shoulders above the others. But even Viviani was soon distanced by Mullen, who went on to lead the race solo with 200km completed. At the 76km to go marker, Healy and Lutsenko caught Mullen, who then went to the front to try and drag them clear.
At that point, there was a frenzy of attacking from behind - led by eventual winner Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) - which brought the group to withing 5 seconds of Healy, Mullen and Viviani. But then the combination of a lull at the front of the peloton, and Mullen riding himself into the ground for Healy, saw their gap go out quite quickly to over 20 seconds.
After Mullen had ridden so hard - for about 130km - when the road kicked up for the last climb before the leaders reached the circuit some 9.5km from the finish, Mullen was dropped.
Mullen was reabsorbed by the peloton with 67.9km to go at and the 60km to go marker a chase group formed, about 30 seconds behind Healy and Lutsenko.
In that group were: Valentin Madouas (France), Fred Wright (Great Britain), Michael Woods (Canada), Politt (Germany), Stefan Küng (Switzerland), Marco Haller (Austria) and Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Mongolia).
With 56km to go, Healy and Lutsenko had just 16 seconds on the chasing group, but they now had 55 seconds on the remains of the bunch.
With 51km to go, Healy and Lutsenko still had 17 seconds on the chasing group and they had 1:13 on the peloton. On the climb - the first of three passages of the 1km ascent on the finishing circuit - with 46km to go, Ben Healy dropped Lutsenko. But behind Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and Wout van Aert (Belgium) were attacking off the front of the peloton.
As the road evened out after the climb, Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Julian Alaphilippe (France) and Toms Skujiņš (Latvia) got across to Van Aert and Van der Poel to create a second chasing group on the road.
With 42km to go, Healy still had 20 seconds on the first chasing group and 27 seconds on the second chasing group, though that was soon caught. Healy had 33 seconds on the first chase group and 44 seconds on the peloton, from which Evenepoel (Belgium) attacked with 37.5km to go, getting clear solo and looking very impressive.
Evenepoel almost immediately caught the chasing group, and went to the front, with Healy still enjoying a lead of 40 seconds on that chasing group and with 44 seconds over the peloton.
Evenepoel continued to lead the chasing group, going very hard, alongside Valentin Madouas (France), Fred Wright (Great Britain), Michael Woods (Canada), Politt (Germany), Stefan Küng (Switzerland), Marco Haller (Austria) and Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Mongolia).
And with 33.1km to go, Healy was caught; Evenepoel closing a gap of about 30 seconds in a just a couple of kilometres and towing the others up to the Irishman.
The riders able to hold Evenepoel as he closed down Healy were New Zealand’s Pithie, France’s Madouas, Switzerland’s Küng and Austria’s Haller, with Healy also hanging in after he was caught.
Once the climb began for the second passage of three, Haller and Küng were dropped, but Healy was still hanging in. But Evenepoel then pushed on with only France’s Madouas for company with 26km to go and one more passage of the climb before the 9.5km run to the finish.
However, Healy was still third man on the road and chasing the two leaders before being caught by Haller and Küng. They were 17 seconds down, with 24km to go. And the remains of the peloton – which was splitting at the front – still at 42 seconds.
With 15km to go, Evenepoel dropped Madouas on a small incline just before the third passage of the climb; headed solo to the Olympic gold medal double, after his win in the TT last weekend.
With 14km to, the Healy group was 1:14 down on Evenpoel and the remains of the peloton was just a further 13 seconds back
With 5km to go, Madouas was 1:09 down on Evenepoel and the chasing group – Healy, Christophe Laporte (France), Matteo Jorgenson (USA) and Haller – were just 21 seconds down on the French rider.
With just 3.9km to go, Evenepoel suffered a back wheel puncture and got a new bike, in a panic, very quickly. He still had a minute on Madouas after the mishap and the Frenchman had almost 30 seconds on the Healy chasing group, with the remains of the peloton closing on Healy’s group.
Evenpoel got word of the gap, began to relax and rode in to win an incredible Olympic road race in Paris. Behind him, Madouas hung on for the silver, a deserved medal winner, at 1:11.
Five seconds later Laporte took the sprint from the chasing group for bronze. And as that group had swelled in the last few kilometres, Healy lost out a little, finishing 10th, some 1:20 down on the winner. Mullen was 60th at 16:57.
