Mark Downey has finished his road season on a high, with ninth in the Men’s U23 Road Race at the 2017 UCI Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway today.
The 191km Road Race was won by Frenchman Benoit Cosnefroy, with Germany’s Lennard Kamna taking the silver. The bronze medal was contested by a fast approaching bunch three seconds later, with Denmark’s Michael Carbel Svendgaard rounding off the podium.
Daire Feeley was 69th and Darragh O’Mahony 117th. Adam Stenson and Matthew Teggart did not finish.
"If you told me at the beginning of the year that I’d be ninth in the World Championships I wouldn’t have believed it," said 21-year-old Downey.
"It means a lot to me. When you look at the guys in the top tens and twenties and there are world tour guys – this year I was an amateur in France. To be up there and elbowing those boys towards the finish, it bodes well for the future."
"It was one of those days when everything falls into place. I saved energy when I could, I kept on top of the food and stayed in the right place. I stayed out of trouble coming to the finish and came ninth. To end the season like that I’m really, really happy."
Early predictions suggested that the 17.9km circuit would end in a bunch sprint. However, this was not the case with the 1.5km climb resulting in a war of attrition once the pressure came on with 75km to go.
"Everyone tipped it to be a sprinter’s race, but I don’t think there were many sprinters at that front group in the end," the Dromore man said. "It wasn’t really a sprint – it was just about who would get to that line first."
Action continues at the championships tomorrow with the Junior Men’s Road Race in the morning, where three riders take to the start line of the 135.5km race – PJ Doogan, Luke Smith and Ben Walsh.
In the afternoon Lydia Boylan will take on the Elite Women’s 153km Road Race.
