After his near-miss in 2014, Ryan Mullen was widely tipped as the man to beat in the battle for the rainbow jersey in the U23 time trial at the World Championships. However, rain started to fall as the late starters hit the course and Mullen ended his race in an anonymous 11th place.

In 2014, Ryan Mullen was beaten by less than half a second in the U23 time trial at the World Championships in Ponferrada. One year older he was clearly the favourite for the 2015 edition of the race but bad luck with the weather ruined the race.

“I am disappointed,” he told CyclingQuotes at the finish. “What happened was uncontrollable. The guys earlier had drier and warmer conditions. The riders who were off in the last wave had the worst conditions and the times reflect that. It’s just one of those things.

“Last year I had a good run and good luck. This year I had good legs. I was holding good numbers where I could. Just the conditions weren’t in my favour. It was one of those uncontrollable situations. I am just a bit sad for the guys who have been working for me.

“I had good legs but it went bad. I was strong but in the corners I felt one or two times early on that the wheels were sliding. I didn’t know how hard to push in the corners. I lost one second in every corner. Over the whole course that’s 20 seconds but that’s how it goes.”

This was Mullen’s final chance to win the race as he will turn pro win Cannondale-Garmin next year.