Mark Downey eyes World Championship medal after World Cup success

Confidence on a high after winning a track World Cup event last Sunday, Mark Downey has said that he is aiming for a medal in next spring’s world championships. The 20-year-old was racing with the Irish national team in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, last weekend and won the points race.

The success followed on from a silver medal in the European under-23 championships earlier this year and confirms his potential.

"I would say that this is definitely the biggest result of my career," he told The Irish Times on Thursday. "Martin Irvine [the 2013 world scratch race champion] won a World Cup too, so it is pretty nice to join a prestigious guy like him in that way."

Downey will next compete in a four-day track race next week in Geneva. He and Irish team-mate Felix English will aim for success in the Madison event, conscious that a strong showing there would help them qualify for the same event in the track world championships.

In the new year, he will ride other track events as part of his build-up for the world championships, which will be held next April in Hong Kong.

Olympic year

“The worlds is definitely a big one for me. Coming of the back of an Olympic year, there will be one or two of the big guys who will be missing. So I will try to make the most of that opportunity. The goal in my head at the minute is to go the world championships, pick up a medal and then chase the real dream of becoming a World Tour bike rider.”

Downey, brother of former Irish international Sean Downey, competed with the VC Toucy amateur team in France this year. Next season he is stepping up to the CC Etupes squad, which has helped many strong riders turn professional in the past.

“They helped the likes of Adam Yates, Thibaut Pinot, Warren Barguil and real good guys like that,” he said. “They have got a really nice calendar with all the great under-23 races like Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“It will be great to have a team that can support me in bigger races next year, without me spending extra energy with 40 or 50 kilometres to go when I really don’t need to be doing that.”

In other news, Cycling Ireland will hold its annual awards night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry, Dublin, on Saturday November 26th. Tickets are now available on CyclingIreland.ie.