Ryan Mullen was Ireland’s top finisher in the U23 Men’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain, coming in in 63rd place.
Ireland entered a strong three man team in the 182km event, with all riders staying comfortably in the main group until the last five laps, when the pace came up.
In the last lap, attacks split the field apart, with Norway’s Sven Erik Bystrom winning the world title ahead of Caleb Ewan (Australia) and Bystrom’s teammate Kristoffer Skjerping (Norway) in the bronze medal posititon.
Mullen, who won a silver medal in the time trial on Monday, finished in 63rd position, with Conor Dunne a little further back in 72nd. Jack Wilson finished 101st.
Tomorrow morning, the Junior Men line up in the road race, with all eyes on Corkman Eddie Dunbar. The Championships conclude on Sunday when Nicolas Roche, Philip Deignan and Daniel Martin race for Ireland in the Men's elite road race.
Earlier today, Josie Knight was forced to withdraw from the Junior Women’s road race, suffering from injuries she sustained in the time trial on Monday.
The U23 Men’s Road Race had a tentative start, with ten laps of an 18.2km circuit to navigate, so an early break of three riders was allowed to get away, with the bunch remaining steady for half the race. However, the second half of the race was a war of attrition, with a nervous bunch of riders.
Ryan Mullen, described how the race unfolded: “It is a pretty lumpy course out there. Early on the Australians controlled the race from the front, but it was a gritty last five laps, just wearing you down.
"The bunch was a bit nervous, there was a lot of slamming on, at one point I came down myself, someone in front of me got caught up on the climb, and I went over the handlebars. I got straight back up and carried on.
"The hardest part of the course was the feed zone. We were expecting the climb, but this was a long drag, so you went up it not too fast and not too slow, it was an uncomfortable pace that just wore you down.”
Mullen has had a fantastic season, starting off with a fourth place in the Men’s Elite Individual Pursuit at the World Championships, before winning National Titles on the road, and finishing up with a World Championship silver medal in the U23 Men’s time trial earlier this week.
His focus is now going to switch back to the track for the winter “Next up is Majorca; I’m switching my focus back to the track for the winter. Last year was good, and I’ve still areas to improve.”
