The 2024 road race season delivered some fantastic performances by our Irish male juniors. In this piece we've compiled a list of the best rides, at home and abroad. And we have a separate ranking for our female juniors coming up soon.
Seth Dunwoody | E3 Saxo Classic
It's always hard - especially with the current crop of juniors - to pick the absolute best win of the year from this quality list. But for us, this is it. Dunwoody (Cannibal B Victorious) claimed victory in the 118km UCI 1.1-ranked race from a bunch sprint; after a series of bergs reduced that bunch to just 45 riders. If he can replicate that in the U23 ranks - and hopefully as a pro - these are the performances careers are made of, big careers.
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Patrick Casey | Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (2.1)
Regarded as perhaps the hardest and most prestigious junior stage race in France, Patrick Casey (Team GRENKE - Auto Eder) bounced back from a difficult opening stage to win stage 2 of Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (2.1) in July; an excellent performance.
Seth Dunwoody | World Championships MJ - ITT (WC)
This time riding in the green of Ireland, Dunwoody showed his world class time trialing abilities with 5th in the junior TT at the Worlds in Zürich; a brilliant ride.
Seth Dunwoody | Nation's Cup Hungary (2.Ncup) TT
Dunwoody - his name features a lot on this list because he had a runaway season - took a fantastic TT stage win in the Nation's Cup Hungary in August on his way to 2nd overall.
Seth Dunwoody | Course de la Paix Juniors (2.Ncup)
In May, Dunwoody took the first of his two Nations Cup stage wins with a victory in the junior Peace Race in Czechia, this time sprinting in from the bunch.
Seth Dunwoody | Chrono des Nations (1.1)
Dunwoody ended a brilliant season on a high by claiming the junior men's race at the Chrono des Nations (1.1) TT in France; a fitting way to wrap up 2024.
Conor Murphy | World Championships MJ - ITT (WC)
It was one of the performances of the season, but perhaps went under the radar a little because his team mate was 5th on the day. But when first-year junior Conor Murphy (Caldwell Cycles) finished 10th in the junior TT at the World Road Championships he confirmed his world class level.
Patrick Casey | Eroica Juniores - Nations' Cup (2.Ncup)
Casey took the lead in the Italian Nations Cup race - a grippy event in April - on the second stage and kept it for two days. Racing against some of the very best juniors in the world, he eventually finished 3rd overall.
Conor Murphy | Eroica Juniores - Coppa Andrea Meneghelli
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Murphy is another of the juniors whose performances feature more than once on this list and his win at Eroica Juniores-Coppa Andrea Meneghelli in Italy in May was huge. He claimed the UCI 1.1-ranked event out front on his own.
Patrick Casey | National Road Race Championships
Casey went into the junior road race as one of the marked men; a tag he shrugged off by taking flight on his own in Limerick. He claimed the Irish crown by 1:31 from a chasing group.
Sam Coleman | Mapei Classic | Jr
Back at the start of the season, Coleman (AS Villemur Cyclisme) opened his campaign in France with a fantastic win at Mapei Classic. Over a lumpy course, he got into the breakaway and the forged ahead alone to win by almost three minutes.
Kilian O'Brien | Junior Tour of Wales
O'Brien (International Veleka Team) was perhaps the most under-rated junior in the country this year, certainly as far as national team selection went. But he is a class act and his 3rd overall at Junior Tour of Wales suggests a talent that could bring great things, especially when the road kicks up.
Sam Coleman | La Route d'Éole Juniors
In March, Coleman took a stage win and the overall in Route d'Eole; a two-day, national-level, French race for juniors. He claimed the opening stage - again solo - before wrapping up victory the next day.
David Gaffney | Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (2.1)
Gaffney (Team 31 Jolly Cycles) was one of the junior riders of the season. He chose, as a first-year, to ride the hardest events he could, therefore performing perhaps just below the radar. But his season was a class in consistency and he is one to watch. His 19th overall in Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (2.1) perhaps didn't grab the headlines, but he held his own, and some, against many of the best in the world. Watch him closely in 2025.
Cal Tutty | Grande Prémio do Minho
Tutty (JEGG-DJR Academy U19) took 3rd overall in the three-stage national level Grande Prémio do Minho in Portugal in July after an aggressive ride, including 2nd and 8th on the first and third stages. He was also 7th on the queen stage at the Junior Tour of Wales and can do very well as an U23 next season.
Michael Collins | Junior Tour of Ireland
Collins (Newcastle West CC) was one of the most tenacious riders of the year and his 'have a go' attitude, not to mention his abilities as a bike rider, were rewarded with a fantastic solo win on stage 3 of the JT into Kilfenora.
Max Fitzgerald | Junior Tour of Ireland
Another first-year junior this year, Fitzgerald (JEGG-DJR Academy U19) showed his sprinting prowess with victory on stage 5 of the Junior Tour into Gort. If he can replicate, and even improve, his kick next year, the wins could come rolling in.
Cameron Henry | Junior Tour of Ireland
Henry (Inspired Cycling) looks like a very tidy prospect for Ireland. His 4th place overall at the Junior Tour of Ireland, riding against very talented foreign riders, underlined his class.
