One of the top juniors in the country this year, Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious) has shown he is still in great form as the end of the season draws near. The 17-year-old has been competing in Belgium for his trade team, going up against some of the best junior riders in the world and taking one of his best results of the year.
Dunwoody had already take two UCI-ranked wins this season - a stage and the overall in Penn Ar Bed - Pays d'Iroise (2.1) in France in April - but this weekend took his best TT result, given the quality of the opposition.
He placed 9th in the 6km stage 2 TT in Keizer der Juniores (2.1) his morning in Wulpen, clocking an average speed of 50.467km per hour for his effort. Dunwoody was 15 seconds down on TT winner Steffen De Schuyteneer (AG2R Citroën U19 Team) and one second up on Worlds silver medal winner in 10th, Ben Wiggins (Fensham Howes-MAS Design).
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Unfortunately for Dunwoody, the opening stage on Saturday - some 111.2km starting and finishing in Pittem saw the field split, with Dunwoody on the wrong side of those gaps. He finished, alongside Wiggins, over eight minutes down on stage winner, and soon to be Jumbo Visma rider, Matthew Brennan (Fensham Howes-MAS Design).
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Dunwoody had been in the breakaway on that opening stage but punctured when there were no cars behind the lead group. He endured a long wait for a change and found himself out the back.
After this morning's stage 2a TT, the riders faced stage 2b in the afternoon - some 99km starting and finishing in Koksijde. Again Dunwoody suffered bad luck and needed a bike change after a mechanical. While he got back on, and even spent a lap off the front solo, he was caught and did not figure at the front on the finale.
While the official results list him as a 'did not finish', he did complete the stage but did so on a spare bike, meaning his responder did not register on the finish line.
Fellow Irish rider Curtis Neill (U19 Academy La Pomme Marseille Provence), who represented Northern Ireland in the Junior Commonwealth Games this year, was also in action in the Belgian three-stage race. Neill was 92nd on the opening stage and 74th in the TT but was suffering from illness and was eventually forced out of the race on this afternoon's concluding stage.
