They came with medals in mind, but instead Friday the 13th saw bad luck and disappointment afflict the four-man Irish team.
Plouay was the venue, a small Breton village brightened by fine wooded environs and sunny Autumnal weather, yet the pleasant conditions did little to cheer an Irish team which had prepared encouragingly well but came up short on the day.
Such is the unpredictability of road racing. We had hoped that 1998 junior champion Mark Scanlon or promising Mayo cyclist David O'Loughlin would be in the hunt for the medals at the end of 170 draining kilometres, but instead the prizes were snatched by Russia, Ukraine and the ever-strong Italian contingent.
Evegini Petrov, from Yaroslav Popovych and Lorenzo Bernucci were the victorious trio; Ireland's best finisher was O'Loughlin who rode well throughout, made several breakaway attempts, but was caught behind a crash and crossed the line at the rear of the main bunch in 60th place.
"I was able to respond when the Italians put on the pressure," said the aspiring professional, "but I didn't really have it on the last lap. It is a pity because I was counting on a high placing to secure a contract, and don't know if my 10th place in the time trial will be enough."
For Scanlon, greater disappointment. Coming back from a mid-season broken wrist to contest a heavy programme of international races always left open the possibility that fatigue would prevail over gains in fitness, especially after a tough guest slot with the Linda McCartney pro team. Yesterday, that fear was realised when he wheeled to a halt after 10 of 12 laps.
Afterwards, the budding superstar cut a lonely sight as he sat in the Irish pits, dejectedly chewing a sandwich and staring blankly into the near distance. Young, gifted, fired by an acute competitive instinct, the performance hurt but realism soon set in.
"My legs were okay, but not great and that is what you need for a world championship race," he explained. "Maybe I pushed myself a bit hard last week. It is hard when you are coming back from an injury - I did 14 days racing in 20 days, and today that just got to me. But I am turning professional next year and have that to aim for."
With Stephen Gallagher crashing out on the sixth lap and Dermot Nally losing contact with the bunch shortly afterwards, national team director Richie Beatty was philosophical in defeat.
"I had hoped for more going into the race, but the lads gave their best shot and I really can't ask for anything more. Mark and David are very strong young riders and I feel that they will go on from this to achieve in the future."
For now, their season is over. Today, the Irish participation draws to a close when Geraldine Gill lines out in the Elite women's road race, while Tim Cassidy, Philip Deignan, Michael Dennehy and Colin Armstrong compete in the junior event.
In Australia, Eugene Moriarty was best of the Irish in 13th place on yesterday's 148 km stage of the Herald Sun Tour, which was won by Jeremy Hunt. Moriarty came home in a large group two minutes and 35 seconds down on the Briton, with Ciaran Power and Tommy Evans also present in 23rd and 32nd places respectively.
Power has slipped one place to ninth overall behind new race leader Eugen Wacker, who finally deposed of long-time yellow jersey Mark Wohlberg yesterday.
It was a day of change, but some things remained constant. Aidan Duff continues to lead the most aggressive rider classification, due largely to his winning effort on stage eight, while Power is a fine second in the criterium competition.
Just two stages remain in the 15-day race, tomorrow's 189 km penultimate stage from Colac to Apollo Bay and Sunday's 44 km Geelong criterium.
Both will afford Power the chance to add to his nine top-10 finishes thus far, although four podium visits have wetted his appetite to aim for bigger things. A stage win would cap off a good tour for the Irish team.
