The FBD Talent Team 2020 have impressed on the Continent this week, capping things off with an unprecedented 1,2,3,4 in the Steensel Kermesse in Holland.
By Gerard Cromwell
Irish cyclists have stormed the Dutch junior and youth scene, taking impressive victories in the Steensel Kermesse.
Cork duo Eddie Dunbar and Dion McCarthy were to the fore, with McCarthy leading home an unprecedented Irish one, two, three, four for the FBD Talent Team 2020 in the U16 race.
McCarthy’s victory and the second, third and fourth places of his teammates capped an impressive taster weekend of racing in Belgium and Holland for the FBD backed Irish youth development squad.
With U16 rider Adam Stenson having already taken victory in Heestert, Belgium, on Saturday and teammate Ronan Tuomey taking third, Dion McCarthy was the only Irish rider to make it into a six man breakaway in the squad's second race in Mol Gompel on Saturday.
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With three members of the USA development squad also in the move however, the rest of the break, including McCarthy, soon found themselves being worked over and eventually exited the back door.
“The lads rode really well on Saturday but they got an education from the American version of our talent team,” said FBD Talent Team 2020 manager Martin O’Loughlin.
“Dion was in a group of six that went clear but the Americans had three or four in it and their tactics were absolutely brilliant.
“They let the wheels go on the corners and forced the others to chase back on, sitting on them on the way up and then doing it again.
“Before they knew it the lads were a minute down. They got into some good moves but were taken out the back on purpose and didn’t realise it.”
Cork youngster Dion McCarthy has already taken wins in Belgium and yesterday got his first victory on Dutch soil.
The lesson however was quickly learned and yesterday the Irish U16s repaid the compliment in Holland, mimicking their American counterparts until there was nobody left at the front of the race except the four FBD Talent Team riders.
“There were sprints at the end of every lap so there was a lot of speed through the finish area every time,” says O’Loughlin.
“After the line, there were four corners within 400m and after three laps, when guys were tired after the sprint, Dion McCarthy hit them hard and got up the road with a Dutch guy.
“Jake Gray was blocking behind and then, when he got a chance, he went across. Adam Stenson was brought across by another Dutch guy and Ronan Tuomey time trialled across on his own later on.”
With four Irish in the now six-strong breakaway group, they soon began working over the Dutch duo, until there were just four FBD Talent Team riders up front with four laps to go.
“They the exact same thing to the Dutch today as the Americans did to them, which shows they are learning.
“It came to a sprint then and as Adam had won already, he just kept the tempo going. It was a straight sprint between Jake and Dion. Jake went very early and Dion came around him to win.
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“We would have been disappointed if we didn’t get the win but to get first, second, third and fourth has never been done before. It was lovely to watch.”
Different country, same winner. Eddie Dunbar continued where he left off on the domestic scene with a dominant win in Holland yesterday (Photo: Maura Lynch Moriarty)
There was more good news for Irish riders in the junior race later on, when Cork's Eddie Dunbar showed a clean pair of wheels to the rest of the peloton, lapping the field to take a fine victory, with Limerick’s Stephen Shanahan third.
The duo are riding in Holland as guests of the Dutch Tempo Bruns team for a few weeks and showed they are both more than capable of matching their European counterparts.
“Eddie said before the start that he was going to treat it as training for the time trial championships and he was going to attack and attack and that’s what he did,” laughed O’Loughlin afterwards.
“He really impressed me. There was a motorbike at the front of the race and then there was Eddie, who looked like another motorbike.
“He’s really good to pedal around corners and looked very smooth. He even tried to attack the chasing group again when he lapped them but he couldn’t get away so he just dropped off the back coming to the line to celebrate the win.”
Shanahan also impressed in the 60km race with a strong finishing sprint from the chase group of seven securing third place.
“There was a huge thunder shower with five laps to go and the streets were paved and very slippery so I didn’t know if he was going to contest the sprint, with the national championships coming up,” said O’Loughlin.
“But he went for it and himself and the guy that was second pulled a good gap in the sprint.
Not to be outdone, the Irish U14s also put in a fine performance in Tessenderlo on Sunday with Conor Gallagher going clear with the champion of Limburg, Lars Daniels, on the third of 18 laps.
The duo proceeded to lap the field on the 2km circuit with Gallagher only beaten in a photo finish at the line.
“Conor Gallagher was astounding. He was up against the Limburg champion, who hasn’t been beaten all year and was literally pipped on the line in a photo finish," said manager O'Loughlin.
Donegal youngster PJ Doogan was also set for a great result, sitting in a chase group of nine riders before he punctured on the last lap.
The FBD Talent Team 2020 continue their Continental adventure with a mechanical workshop from former Vaconsoleil mechanic Tom Van Teeffelen today and a ride around the famous Amstel Gold Race course tomorrow before returning home on Thursday.
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