Young Gun: Eoin Mullen progressed through the sprint qualifiers at the U23 Euros in Portugal but went out at the next stage; he has the keirin to come on Sunday.
Ryan Mullen has put in a strong ride in the points race at the U23 European Track Championships in Portugal, but ultimately one that has fallen short of the medal-winning performance in the 4km individual pursuit earlier in the week.
The IG Sigma Sport professional and Team Ireland man is more used to earning his corn riding road time trials and road races rather than track events. So it is perhaps no surprise that the power that brought him the bronze in Tuesday’s pursuit was not matched by the track craft that would have been needed to take another medal in last night’s points race.
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The event is a chaotic bunch race, ridden on bikes with no brakes, and involves riders racing 40km on the250m track with points on offer during sprints to the line on designated laps.
However, despite the lack of a medal, the 18-year-old still showed that he is well able to handle himself in a packed group at high speed on the boards and was leading the event at the halfway point.
Mullen was involved in an early attack with five other riders, lapping the rest of the field and taking a 20 points bonus in the process to put him in the lead.
However, he was less successful in the second half of the race and as those just behind him at halfway scored more and more points, Mullen had dropped to 7th by the finish.
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“It was a good start to the race for Ryan,” said Cycling Ireland head coach Brian Nugent.
“The plan was to show more in the second half, but when the break went he had to go with it. When there are eight nations with two riders, and the Olympic silver medallist is working for the eventual winner, it is always going to be hard to get an extra lap on your own. To lead the race for the first half was a good experience to start his points racing at this level, and he fought all the way to the end, regardless.”
France’s Thomas Boudat took the title, with Swiss rider Thery Schir second and Bulgarian Raman Ramanau (BLR) taking bronze.
The winner was among that group with Mullen to gain a lap on the rest of the field, but he then went on and gained a further lap, in what was a great ride by him.
Also in action at these championships, Eoin Mullen was 13th in the qualifying rounds of the U23 sprint event yesterday in a time of 10.416. He then progressed to the last 16 but was beaten at that point by Spain’s Jose Moreno Sanchez.
Ryan Mullen goes again in the scratch race at the championships today while Eoin Mullen rides the keirin on Sunday.
