Gold for Lundy in International Debut
Six Team Ireland triathletes were in action this weekend in Egypt and Spain, with Ryan Lundy securing gold in his international debut at the African Junior Cup Hurghada.
Africa Triathlon Cup Hurghada
Ryan Lundy won his international debut at the Africa Triathlon Junior Cup Hurghada on Saturday morning. After emerging from the swim in second place, Lundy maintained the pace on the bike and run leg to seal the win. Reflecting on his win, Ryan shared:
“It’s always incredible to wear the Irish trisuit on an international stage, so to top it off with a win makes it even more special.”
Speaking on his performance, Ryan shared:
“The swim set me up well – I was able to get into a strong rhythm coming out second in the first group, comfortably making the lead pack on the bike. After a few surges, I managed to break away and open up a gap, keeping the pace high for the remainder of the bike. The run was tough with the heat and strong breeze playing their part. I was happy to be able to hold on and take the tape.”
Lundy gave credit to the support he received from the team, sharing, “It was great to have the support of the three senior athletes: James, Senan, and Mathys. Their knowledge of international racing and the support they provided before the race really made it feel like a team effort in what is largely an individual sport.”
The success follows his domestic podium finish two weeks prior at Pulse Port Beach Triathlon, where Lundy claimed third place.
James Edgar finished in a strong 4th place in the Senior Men’s race. Edgar positioned himself well at the start of the race, emerging from the swim within the lead pack and maintaining his place with the frontrunners with a solid bike and run leg. Looking back on the race, James shared:
“It was a solid race overall; I managed to pick up some sickness on the flight over, which made it quite a bit more challenging than I hoped for, but I was able to make the lead pack out of the water and survive through to the end of the bike. On the run, I just kept hanging on to the leaders as others dropped off – I was absolutely empty by the end and no kick finish left in me, but a 14:46 5k is still a pretty good run given the sickness.”
On narrowly missing out on a podium finish, Edgar added: “Always hard missing out on a podium by such a small margin, but another step in the right direction this season.”
Mathys Bocquet joined Edgar on the start line for his Senior debut, finishing in 24th place. After securing P12 the week prior at the European Triathlon Junior Cup in Malta, Bocquet embraced the challenge and produced a strong bike leg, coming into T2 at the front of the field.
Speaking on the race, Mathys shared: “Great two weekends of back-to-back racing to end the season off nicely. I was happy to come away with my best result in a European Junior Cup in Malta, executing a solid swim and bike combo to end my junior campaign. It was tough to follow that up 5 days later, under the Saharan sun in my debut senior race. I was happy to get stuck in amongst the big boys and gain some valuable experience going into next year.”
His fellow National Triathlon Centre teammate, Senan McDonnell, had an unfortunate DNF after a minor crash on the bike leg. McDonnell started the race strong with a solid swim leg, positioning himself well before the incident forced him to withdraw from the race. Reflecting on the last two weeks of racing, Senan shared:
“In Malta, I was pleased to come away with seventh place in a strong and competitive field. The second race started well with a solid swim, which saw me in the front pack on the bike, but unfortunately, I was taken down in a bike crash and couldn’t finish as planned. Despite the setback, I’m taking the positives forward and looking ahead to building on the good form in the next races.”
Both athletes will take valuable experience from racing amongst senior level competitors in challenging conditions, as they begin to wrap up their 2025 seasons.
Europe Triathlon Cup Ceuta
Meanwhile in Spain, Hollie Elliott and Luke McCarron competed at the European Triathlon Cup in the Senior Women’s and Men’s events, respectively.
Elliott’s strong performance secured her a seventh place finish. Out of the swim in second, Elliot positioned herself in the front pack as the leaders headed onto the bike course. It all came down to the final run, with just 42 seconds separating eventual winner Ana Carballo Gomez (ESP) and Ireland’s Hollie Elliott in seventh.
Reflecting on her performance, Elliott shared:
“I wanted a little more from myself in the race, training has been going well…but it wasn’t to be on the run yesterday.
A few of us had a small gap out of the swim but a large bike group formed and it was another run race. I don’t favour European cups for this reason, but a large focus for me was securing Sport Ireland Carding criteria heading into the Olympic qualification opening next year, so I’m happy to have done that. I’ve got two more races left this season so I’m excited to have another little block now and then hopefully finish on a high with those.”
In the Men’s race, McCarron finished in P48 after a determined performance amongst a large competitive field. Looking back on the race, Luke shared:
“I was very disappointed with the result. No excuses for it, I just didn’t perform to the standards I’ve set for myself. So I need to correct that ahead of the next European Cup on Sunday. Looking forward the goal for this season to get a top 10 in one of the European Cups as that would fulfil the criteria to allow me to begin racing on the World Cup circuit. It’s just all about being in as strong a position as possible before Olympic qualification starts in May 2026.”
