The Irish team at the European Road Championships today achieved the sort of results that would have amounted to a solid return in any other year. But given the expectations around this group, after their blistering performances at the Worlds last month, today was a disappointment.
Despite falling short of hopes and expectations, the team took a number of top 10 placings. It is a mark of the strength in depth now within Team Ireland that they were hoping for a lot more, with medal chances in the men's U23 TT and junior women's test in particular.
Lucy Benezet Minns, Aine Doherty and Julia Ellen Murphy got Ireland's opening day underway in the 19.8km pan flat junior women's TT in Emmen. While all three are great prospects for Ireland, Benezet Minns was the medal hope after her breakthrough 4th place finish at the Worlds in Scotland last month.
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However, since her Worlds she has crashed hard, while riding for the Irish team at Rás na mBan, which she was forced to abandon. Today she put up a very good fight, to take 10th place, some 1:55 down on new champion Federica Venturelli (Italy). And while that was below the high hopes now around Benezet Minns, it's another ride that points to world class talent.
Doherty, competing in her first year as a junior, placed 33rd at 3:16, while Julia Ellen Murphy - who won the Spanish junior TT title this year - was 41st at 4:34.
The other top 10 of the day came from Adam Rafferty in the junior men's TT; he and Liam O'Brien going into that hoping for a big result after placing 8th and 11th at the Worlds. They did not achieve the same standard this time around, though still rode very strongly.
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Rafferty was 1:15 down on winner Albert Withen Philipsen, the Danish rider who also won the junior road race at the Worlds last month. O'Brien was 28th at 1:45. Patrick Casey - a very strong prospect making his debut for Ireland at this level - was 38th in the 60-rider field at 2:19.
In the U23 TT, Darren Rafferty and Dean Harvey were 12th and 13th; some 1:15 and 1:20 down on winner Alec Segaert (Belgium). For Rafferty - after 5th in the TT at the Worlds and 6th in the TT at last year's Europeans, 12th was below par.
However, Harvey's 13th place was his best performance against the clock at this level and suggests he has made significant progress this season, riding for Trinity Racing. Harvey can be very happy with that result, underlining his quality on such a big stage.
Ryan Mullen put up a very solid showing for Ireland in the elite men's TT with 17th, some 1:48 down on winner Joshua Tarling. The British rider, still just 19 years old and already with a bronze in the TT at the Worlds this year, was in full beast mode today.
He beat silver medal winner Stefan Bissegger (Switzerland) and bronze medal man Wout van Aert (Belgium) by 42 and 43 seconds respectively, an enormous victory margin at this level over 28.7km.
In the elite women's TT, Kelly Murphy put in a great ride to take 13th - though she has placed in the top 10 before in the Europeans. She was 1:36 down on Marlen Reusser (Switzerland). Anna Henderson (Great Britain) was 2nd at 43 seconds while Christina Schweinberger, the Austrian who put in a storming ride for 5th at the Worlds road race last month, won bronze today at 44 seconds.
