Seth Dunwoody has taken his first wins for Team Ireland in international track racing, with visits to the top step on the podium at the UCI Class 1 Track Cycling Challenge in Switzerland at the weekend.
Junior rider Dunwoody was among a small group of Irish track cyclists taking in their last races of the year, just ahead of the European Track Championships early next year. And several of those riders raced to the podium in Switzerland, with no fewer than nine top 3s for the Irish contingent.
Mia Griffin was in great form, placing 2nd in the scratch race, splitting Olympic omnium champion, Jennifer Valente (USA), and five-time world champion, Martina Fidanza (Italy).
Dunwoody, who claimed the national junior road race crown this year riding for Bahrain B Victorious, claimed victory in both the scratch race and the elimination race, which was part of the omnium in Grenchen.
That scratch race was Dunwoody’s first event of the weekend, with the 17-year-old attacking out of the pack on the penultimate lap to overhaul a lone leader from Ukraine and claim an Irish win. He followed that up with 3rd in the points race and 8th in the elimination race, also run off on Friday.
On that opening day of competition, Griffin and Erin Creighton – both members of the senior national track team – were also in action, as was another experienced senior international, Martin Gordon, and his tandem pilot, Eoin Mullen.
Griffin and Creighton were in action in the senior women’s omnium, placing 7th and 23rd overall, respectively. Those overall results were secured via: 7th and 20th in the scratch race; 9th and 20th in the tempo race; 10th and 21st in the elimination race; 3rd and 20th in the points race.
In the men’s paracycling sprint, the Irish tandem pairing of Gordon and Mullen placed 2nd in a strong international field.
On Saturday, Dunwoody was up again, this time in the omnium. He placed 15th in the scratch race, 4th in the tempo race, 1st in the elimination race and ended the competition 2nd overall after a very strong points race; winning several sprints, gaining a lap and just coming up short of another lap gain at the very end of the race.
In the women’s elimination race, Alice Sharpe and Griffin were 9th and 10th and were also 12th and 13th in the points race. In the women’s scratch race, Griffin was 2nd with Erin Creighton 14th.
Sharpe and Griffin then teamed up for the Madison, placing 3rd while the tandem pairing of Gordon and Mullen were 3rd in the TT.
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