Seth Dunwoody is reintroducing himself to the track and has scorched back into action at the U23-junior Europeans in Germany
Just nine days after winning the elite-U23 men’s road race at the National Road Championships in Mayo, Seth Dunwoody has made an impressive return to track racing.
He was 5th in qualifying in the U23 individual pursuit at the European Track Championships in Germany today, Tuesday.
That result was secured even though he had never ridden the individual pursuit before and despite the fact he had not raced at a track meeting since crashing in the scratch race at the junior Europeans two years ago.
The 20-year-old from Armagh is a road rider competing with Bahrain Victorious Development. He has finished 2nd this year in the U23 versions of Paris-Roubaix and Gent Wevelgem; beaten in the lunge for the line in both.
However, he is now reintroducing himself to track racing after making rapid progress as a sprinter and classics man on the road over the past 18 months since moving up to the U23 ranks.
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Dunwoody looked for a long time like he would be in the to four in qualifying today, and therefore proceed to the bronze medal ride-off. However, one of the Belgians then beat him, pushing Dunwoody into 5th and out of the medal ride offs.
Despite missing out, he can be very happy with that result as even one or two more track outings should see him make massive progress. He also has two years remaining as an U23.
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He clocked a time of 4:25.281, which was just over five seconds outside the national record of Olympian, and former world champion, Martyn Irvine. He holds the record at 4:20.260 secs, set way back in 2013.
Wise Bertels (Belgium), the rider whose time confirmed Dunwoody was nudged out of the top four for the medal rides, was fastest of the 21 rider field in qualifying.
He recorded a time of 4:13.423, ahead of Renato Favero (Italy) on 4:17.554, Camille Charret (France), on 4:19.122, and Etienne Grimod (Italy) on 4:20.582.
Finding an extra five seconds – which would have qualified Dunwoody and broke Irvine’s record - in the pursuit is not easy. But the fact Dunwoody is starting from scratch means an improvement of that order, very soon, looks like a certainty.
Dunwoody was not the only Irish rider in action in Cottbus today at the Europeans, which are for both juniors and U23s.
George Sevastopulo, 4th in the road race at the recent National Championships, was 8th in the junior scratch race, from 29 starters. That's a strong result by the Dubliner, who now looks like he is going places.
Making a welcome return from injury, Aoife O’Brien was 14th in the U23 elimination race. And in the U23 men’s elimination race, last year’s silver medal man in the junior Europeans, Max Fitzgerald, was 15th.
Emer Heverin was 19th in the junior women’s scratch race, won by Agata Campana (Italy) from Phoebe Taylor (Great Britain) and Jana Gevers (Belgium).
Ester Wong and Lucy Bénézet Minns were 18th and 19th in qualifying in the U23 individual pursuit. Wong clocked a time of 5:17.408 and Bénézet Minns stopped the clock at 5:27.755.
