At the end of 191km in Bergen Mark Downey (far right) would take Ireland's best ever result in the Worlds U23 road race event. The 'peloton' he was sprinting from contained fewer than 40 riders of the 180 starters (Photos by Sean Rowe)
Mark Downey breaks into U23 Worlds top 10 in Bergen
Having enjoyed runaway success on the track in the last 18 months, Mark Downey has shown he is world class on the road too with a top 10 in the World Championships today.
The Irishman was 9th in the 191km U23 category road race in Bergen; his best ever result on the road.
He took 7th in the sprint for the bronze medal after Benoit Cosnefroy (France) and Lennard Kämna (Germany) took gold a silver.
Just three seconds after the victor, Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Denmark) won the sprint for 3rd place, with Oliver Wood (Great Britain) just behind.
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Then came Vincenzo Albanese (Italy), Damien Touze (France), Max Kanter (Germany), Michal Paluta (Poland) and Mark Downey. And rounding out the top 10 was Anders Skaarseth (Norway).
Of the other Irish in the race; Daire Feely was 69th at 6:23 and Darragh O'Mahony was 117th at 17:04. Adam Stenson and Matt Teggart were non-finishers.
In the battle for the gold medal, Kämna went for broke on the last lap; attacking before the final climb of Salmon Hill.
He got a gap but eventual winner Cosnefroy then went after him. The Frenchman flew down the descent and caught the lone leader.
And while the two-man escape group was just off the front of a large group, they held off those chasers.
On the line it was Cosnefroy with beat Kämna in the sprint for the rainbow bands. What remained of the peloton - just 37 riders - was three seconds behind.
Downey really showed his worth today, just as he had done at the recent Tour de l’Avenir.
He bullied himself to the front against bigger nations after such a long hard race. And there was a negligible gap between him and bronze in the end.
The sprint for gold and silver; terrific shot by SeanRowe
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His 9th place was Ireland's best ever result in an U23 road race at a Worlds. He equalled Philip Deignan's 9th place in the road race at the Madrid Worlds in 2005.
Ryan Mullen, now with Cannondale-Drapac, claimed U23 silver for Ireland at the Worlds in 2014. But that was in the TT rather than the road race.
Today's result by Downey represents another addition to an already impressive palmares that will surely bring him to the pro ranks sooner rather than later.
How the World Champs was won
The winner and new world champion is aged 21 years but he already has a WorldTour contract.
He joined Ag2r-La Mondiale and has fitted in excellently, winning the GP d’Isbergues last weekend.
Today he claimed victory after 10 laps of the 19.1km circuit that is hosting all the road races.
And while the 1.4km Salmon Hill wore the riders down, it did not cause huge damage.
The summit is peaked 11km from the finish meaning there was plenty of time for the race situation to change between climb and finish.
Having said that, the peloton was down to about 60 riders by the time the last lap got underway; the rest of the field scattered back the road or out of the race.
On that final lap Cosnefroy would get clear in a group chasing lone leader, and his team mate, Benjamin Thomas.
In the chase group of nine the eventual winner was having an armchair ride. When the road went up Thomas was caught the lead group split in half, with five forging ahead.
Back in the peloton Kämna – age 21 and a Team Sunweb WorldTour rider – attacked and caught the five leaders. No sooner was he onto them that he attacked again; going clear just before the last passage of Salmon Hill.
He reached the base of the climb leading alone but just a few seconds. He then rode hard up it and his lead extended north of 10 seconds.
As the five-man chase group swelled by a brace of riders getting across, Cosnefroy made his move from it going down the hill.
He caught the lone leader and the rest is history. They stayed clear for the final 11km with the Frenchman, who rode a much smarter final lap, demolishing his rival in the sprint.
And with the reduced peloton sweeping up the riders who had been with the winner and runner up, it meant the bunch sprint was for bronze.
World Road Championships
Bergen, Norway
Fri, Sept 22: U23 Road Race (191km)
1 Benoit Cosnefroy (France) 4:48:23
2 Lennard Kämna (Germany)
3 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Denmark) 0:00:03
4 Oliver Wood (Great Britain)
5 Vincenzo Albanese (Italy)
6 Damien Touze (France)
7 Max Kanter (Germany)
8 Michal Paluta (Poland)
9 Mark Downey (Ireland)
10 Anders Skaarseth (Norway)
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