In May, Ronan Dunne expressed his views candidly. He confessed to having peeked at the timings prior to his final race at the UCI World Cup Downhill event in Poland, an uncommon habit for him. Seeing the score of Bruni, the series’ leader, lit a fire within Dunne. His motto was either to be airlifted from the downhill or to descend as the champion. Happily, his victory was secured.
The ‘helicopter trip’ Dunne referred to was the potential of being air evacuated from the mountain if anything went awry. However, he outpaced the world champion and leader of the ongoing series, Loic Bruni, by merely 0.064 seconds, achieving his first-ever World Cup victory. This astounding achievement has pushed him up to third in overall rankings before the final round in Mount Saint Anne, Canada, scheduled for this weekend.
Dunne expressed his disbelief at the surprising turn of events, stating, “It’s extraordinary.” He compared his performance with last year when he managed to be the 12th best in overall standings, a record for any Irish cyclist. He is excited by the prospect of rounding off the year amongst the top five, preferably the third place.
The rider from the Mondraker Factory encountered a phenomenal season this year. He clinched the victory at the Red Bull Hardline race held in Australia in February and bagged another win in Wales in June, besides his World Cup win in May. Each achievement is significant in the high-stakes sport of downhill mountain biking, which involves speeding, skidding and jumping down highly technical, dangerous tracks that last for a few minutes.
To Dunne, the Hardline races have a heightened sense of thrill due to their larger jumps and grave risks. Despite taking pride in these two victories, the icing on the cake remained his World Cup win. He remarked, “Securing a win there was extraordinarily special. You get to carry the title of being the fastest globally for that day, which is pretty amazing.”
Dunne’s win at the World Cup filled him with optimism for the overall series in the forthcoming years. He now believes he has a shot at more such wins, terming the experience as “pretty phenomenal”.
A few months following Oisin O’Callaghan’s triumph, fellow Irishman Dunne secured a win. O’Callaghan’s late victory last year at Snowshoe, West Virginia, marked the first time an Irish competitor had tasted success in the elite downhill World Cup. O’Callaghan, the former world junior champion, managed to cross the finish line just 0.496 seconds ahead of Dunne.
The duo, aged 21 and 22, are considered some of the most promising upcoming stars of the sport. Recognising Dunne’s potential following his World Cup win this year, Red Bull signed a contract with him. Dunne expressed, “I have always idolised the brand. It has been my aspiration for many years to become one of their athletes.”
The brand holds significant sway in mountain biking, and the contract will significantly boost his career in the future. Red Bull also backs other top names in various sporting disciplines.
Dunne receives high praise from World Cup leader Bruni. He explains, “Dunne has had a fantastic season. It’s been great watching him continuously grow and succeed. He has always been quite daring, pushing the limits for victories.
With some changes this year, he has shown he can streamline race performances to be more efficient and consistent. When he received his first World Cup this year in Poland, it was refreshing and thrilling to race alongside him.”
While Bruni leads comfortably in the overall rankings, Dunne currently sits in third place closely flanked by his fiercest rival. The final round in Canada holds significant weight, with double points up for grabs. Dunne expects a closely contested battle against fourth place contender, Finn Iles, a previous winner at the Canadian venue, who trails him by only seven points.
He concludes, “The upcoming race holds high stakes, and it’s essentially a winner takes all situation. The competition should be highly competitive, given how closely Finn Iles is trailing me.”
Loic Bruni has already bagged the first place and the second position is largely unchallenged. However, the real contest lies in clinching the third and fourth spots.
Being contemplated for that category is rather impressive. If I manage to secure the third position overall, it would be astounding to declare myself as the world’s third leading mountain biker.
What a thrilling prospect that would be!