Back Injury Forces Montgomery to Retire at Worlds

Bad Luck for Montgomery at Cyclo-cross Worlds

A back injury led to the withdrawal of Ireland’s David Montgomery after three laps of the 3km course at the 2016 UCI U23 Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium today. The An Post Chainreaction rider was racing well in the early part of the race, but a niggling back injury forced him to retire early. The race was eventually won by Belgian Eli Iserbyt (BEL) in a drama filled race, where silver medallist Adam Toupalik (CZE) mistimed the finish, sprinting home a lap early. The 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships ran from the 30-31 January in Belgium.

Montgomery started well in the U23 event, avoided a crash in the opening section of the first lap, and maintained a strong position, trailing the lead riders by roughly 1.5 minutes. However, after three laps he could not proceed. Despite the disappointment for Montgomery team manager Andy Layhe felt the World Championships were a great experience for both Montgomery and David Conroy who came 48^th yesterday in the junior men’s race.

“This was a great experience in general, especially as they are both young. It’s a different level here; riders need to be racing at this high level. It is only through the development of the youth section at home are we going to improve. Apart from David’s mishap today it was a great weekend, David Conroy did a great race yesterday. It was good experience for him especially as he is looking to race U23 in the future. By giving these guys an opportunity to race at the world level we are giving hope to the younger kids at home, gives them something to aspire to, and that increases the standard. Through the development of the youth section back home, and by focusing on technical ability specific to cyclo-cross we can move forward. We have the pedigree of athletes in Ireland to work with.”

The World Championships this weekend rounded off the cyclo-cross season. It is hoped that at some point in the future this spectator friendly discipline of cycling will be included on the Winter Olympic programme. Replays of all of the races from the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships can been seen on the UCI YouTube Channel.

RESULTS U23 Men Cyclo-Cross World Championships:

1. Eli Iserbyt (BEL)

2. Adam Toupalik (CZE)

3. Quentin Hermans (BEL)

DNF David Montgomery (IRL)

RESULTS Junior Men Cyclo-Cross World Championships:

1. Jens Dekker (NED)

2. Michael Crispin (FRA)

3. Thomas Bonnet (FRA)

48 David Conroy (IRL)