Mullen wins junior 'Cross Series, Dunwoody victorious in final round

*Joseph Mullen has won the junior Cyclocross National Series after finishing 2nd in the final round to Seth Dunwoody (Photo: Toby Watson)*

Joseph Mullen (Navan Road Club) and Seth Dunwoody (Cannibal U19 International) went to battle in the finale of the junior race at the final round of the Cyclocross National Series on Saturday, with Dunwoody winning the race but Mullen wrapping up overall victory in the series.

The last race in the series produced a fantastic contest between Curtis Neill (Caldwell Cycles), Mullen and Dunwoody, with Neill looking strongest until he ran into bad luck towards the end with a crash. Meath teenager Mullen got the best start, going into an early lead on the opening lap and being chased by Neill, with eventual race winner, Dunwoody, running third.

As the riders went out onto the second lap, of five, Mullen led by a few lengths from Neill, with Dunwoody almost 10 seconds back. That second lap saw Neill go into the lead, by about five seconds, with Mullen still in second place, and Dunwoody losing another few seconds.

However, on the third lap Dunwoody began to come good; closing the gap to Mullen by two seconds and losing just four seconds to leader Neill. Dunwoody then put in a very strong lap on the fourth passage of the circuit; rounding it nine seconds faster than Mullen and 12 seconds faster than Neill.

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However, Neill was still leading the race before he tangled with another rider, which set him back and saw his challenge for victory unravel on that final lap. As he slipped away from the front, Mullen and Dunwoody were at the head of affairs, together, in the early stages of that final lap.

However, Dunwoody just about had the edge, pulling ahead of Mullen by just a few seconds to win. The margin between the duo was only four seconds at the chequered flag, with Neill just over one minute down, having led by almost 10 seconds as the final lap began.

National road race champion Oisin Ferrity, now with Caldwell Cycles, was 4^th some 1:27 down on the winner. Samuel Coleman (Villeneuve Cycliste) was 5^th, at 1:40, and Tadhg Killeen (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospacial) placed 6^th at 3:23.

In the final standings of the series, Mullen claimed overall victory on 225 points. Killeen was 2^nd overall, with 190 points, while Tavis Harkness (VC Glendale), a non-finisher today, was 3^rd on 157 points.