The Irish juniors have been in action at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in the Netherlands, where Aine Doherty competed in the women's event and Liam O'Brien and Joseph Mullen took on the men's world title race.
Doherty, who rides for Belfast club VC Glendale, finished in 35th place. The 16-year-old banked fantastic experience for the future, as she did at the recent World Cup in Benidorm with 19th place there.
Doherty has been one of the riders of the cyclocross season at elite level in Ireland, despite having just stepped up from the U16 ranks. She has marked herself out as a rider to watch very closely in the years ahead.
Her race at the Worlds was won by Canadian junior Isabella Holmgren, whose twin sister, Ava, took silver at 20 seconds on what was an incredible day for Canadian cycling. Célia Gery (France) and Federica Venturelli (Italy) sprinted it out for the bronze medal some 47 seconds down on the winner. Gery took that sprint, and the bronze, in the 47-rider race with Doherty finishing 4:49 down on the winner.
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In the men's junior race, Liam O'Brien (Fermoy CC) was 44th and Joseph Mullen (Navan RC) placed 46th. National junior champion O'Brien placed 19th in the Europeans last season and was 28th in the Worlds twelve months ago.
Against the backdrop of those results in the 2021-22 season, he would have wanted more from these Worlds in Hoogerheide. Unfortunately, the 17-year-old did not get a clear run on the day as he suffered a crash which derailed his efforts.
While he enjoyed a strong start, he then crashed on the opening lap and needed a bike change. However, once he got onto his new bike he pressed on and made the most of it for 44th. Mullen, a 16-year-old first-year junior, was getting his first taste of competition at this level and his ride in the Netherlands represents valuable experience banked for the future.
The men's junior race, featuring 71 riders, was won by France's Léo Bisiaux, who took gold 17 seconds ahead of Senna Remijn of the Netherlands. The bronze medal was won by Belgium's Yordi Corsus after a sprint with his team mate Wies Nuyens some 17 seconds down on the winner. O'Brien finished at 3:12 while Mullen was at 3:21.
