Mark Downey and Felix English may have been grimacing during their Madison World Cup ride, but they were definitely smiling after it.
Mark Downey has paid tribute to his Madison partner Felix English, saying his classy riding in large part helped them secure a silver medal at the UCI World Cup.
The Irish duo ended the meeting on a high for Ireland, claiming their medal after Downey had won gold in the points race and Lydia Gurley bronze in the scratch race.
And while Downey’s gold, his second in just a few months, perhaps overshadowed the other achievements; English and Gurley were phenomenal.
And Downey singled out his Madison partner – and Cycling Ireland coach David Muntaner – for special praise.
“I really enjoyed the moment with Felix,” Downey said of Sunday’s race.
Advertisement
“He was super out there; world class. He deserves this as we’ve worked just as hard as each other, and like I’ve said from the start, it’s only the beginning.
“Special thanks to David, past world champion in this event. He was our eyes and ears out there, and has been there for us the past year and a half.”
Related News
A formidable trio: Felix English, David Muntaner and Mark Downey.
For his part, English said he was relieved to “finally” get a medal at this level. “I think I’ve had five fourth places at major competitions at this stage,” he said.
“It was even better to do it with Mark – we are both pretty competitive with each other so we train like absolute mad men. And this is our Olympic event for 2020 too.”
He said the mood in the Irish camp was at a high and Irish cycling on the rise.
“A positive vibe is a positive team – that’s what produces great results.”
Downey outlined how the race went down to the wire, with himself and English just one pairing to gain a lap in the dying minutes of the event.
“Everything was running smoothly and when we made the first move David gave the signal and we settled into the rhythm at 70 laps and got the lap with the Danes – they were strong,” he said.
“Then Felix made a move with 17 laps to go; I was totally spent. But it seems to be everyone else was ten times worse than us.
“So we caught the bunch four laps from the finish, and the Danes caught the bunch with two laps to go.
“That pushed us down to second – I’m pretty sure the Irish fans enjoyed that one as much as we did.”
Topics
