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HARELBEKE, Belgium (Velo) — For a few moments, Ashlin Barry thought he won the prestigious E3 Saxo Classic junior race on Friday afternoon.
The 17-year-old won the field sprint of a small peloton after 139km of selective racing under grey clouds. Moments later, Barry noticed that someone else was celebrating the victory, too.
As it turned out, Mikita Babovich of Russia grabbed a solo win 10 seconds before Barry, who, like in all junior races, was competing without radio communication.
“Second,” Barry sighed, when asked about his result. “I didn’t know until after the race. To be honest I thought I had won but in the end there was one rider ahead.
“I’m still really pleased with it. I had a really good sprint. I didn’t necessarily expect to win the sprint from that group. I have to be satisfied without the win.”
It’s a first stint at the famous Belgian pavé climbs for the son of former pros Michael and Dede Barry.
Already making an impression
In a race without TV coverage or radio communication, it’s up to the riders to read the race.
Barry and his composite team with Team USA tried to make the race hard on the climbs.
“I’m really proud with how I rode and how the team rode,” he told Velo. “We were at the front on all the big climbs, racing as hard as possible without spending too much energy on the fast sections. Over the top there were some gaps and it seemed like a group could get away at a couple of points.
“In the end it just kept regrouping behind after the hard sections. We weren’t able to make some real separation. We just couldn’t make the race hard enough to split it up,” Barry said.
After the final climb, there was a flat finale towards the finish in Harelbeke.
“There were a lot of riders going. I saw a rider from Bahrain get caught. I also got caught behind a little crash, with two km to go. I thought it was just a field sprint. Maybe if there were radios, I would’ve known, unfortunately not,” Barry laughed.
“I’m not surprised that a rider could stay away from that group, just because it was pretty tactical. You still got to be strong but I think there’s a lot of riders who could’ve gone and stayed away from that group.”
Last week, Barry fell one second short of the victory at the individual time trial in the Guido Reybrouck Classic in Damme, Belgium.
In two weeks, up next is the prestigious junior edition of Paris-Roubaix, where he finished seventh last year.
“I’m doing a stage race in Germany first and then I’m going to Roubaix. That should be a good next couple of weeks,” Barry said while heading to the doping control.
It’s the latest string of top results from the highly touted Barry, who will join the Visma-Lease a Bike development squad in 2026.
Barry said still doesn’t know if he will be racing the world championships in Kigali, Rwanda in September. Last year, Barry finished fifth in a cold and wet race in Zürich.
“I’m hoping to do worlds. It’s quite complicated with the vaccinations and then travel,” he said. “I have to recon it a week before the race. I hope I’ll be able to do it. It’s a big goal for the season.”
