Timing his final attack perfectly, New Zealand national team rider Myron Simpson clipped away from a fading long distance break and soloed to victory on today’s fifth stage of the An Post Rás. The 20 year old track rider jumped clear after Lachlann Norris (Drapac Professional Cycling) was reeled in by the rest of the break, making his own move three kilometres from the finish line in Blarney and reaching the line four seconds clear.
Second went to breakaway companion Tobyn Horton (Team Motorpoint), who was almost overhauled in the big sprint to the line some four seconds later. He finished just ahead of Bastian Burgel (Germany Thuringer Energie) and Bernardo Riccio (Italy D’Angelo & D’Antenucci), who were at the head of a 77 man main bunch.
Overnight race leader Gediminas Bagdonas finished ninth, and maintained his comfortable one minute 16 second lead over closest rivals Oleksandr Sheydyk (Ukraine ISD-Lampre) and Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence).
Just three stages remain and if his An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team can maintain the same grip as it did today, he has reason to be optimistic.
“Today was good…it was an easier day for me, but not for my team,” he said after the presentation. His English was faltering earlier this week but it, like his confidence, appears to be improving day by day. “They did some very good work and I could sit on their wheels all day. I thank them for it.”
The winning break clipped away 63 kilometres after the start in Castletownbere, the riders present attacking just after another move was brought back. Norris and multiple Irish champion David O’Loughlin (Waterford Comeragh) got things started, and were then joined by four others, namely Simpson, Johannes Kahra (Germany Thuringer Energie), Dean Windsor (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) and Tobyn Horton (Britain Motorpoint).
Driven on by a good tailwind, they eked out a maximum lead of four minutes and put Windsor into the provisional race lead. He had begun the stage three minutes and 42 seconds behind Bagdonas, but any chance of him taking over the jersey was dashed when the An Post team plus the Ukraine-ISD Lampre team of second-placed Oleksandr Sheydyk notched up the speed and started peeling back the advantage.
By the top of the day’s final climb of Windy Gap, the break’s advantage was down to a minute and a half. Norris played his card then, attacking towards the summit, passing the nearby 25 kilometre to go board with a gap over the others, and then building a decent lead. He went too early, however, and instead it was Simpson who triumphed into Blarney.
“I thought we were going to get caught,” Simpson admitted, referring to the big chase driven by the An Post and Ukraine ISD-Lampre teams. “But the Drapac guy [Australian Lachlann Norris] attacked over the top of the last hill, which forced the other five guys to chase him. We caught him with about six kilometres left and then I put my head down with three kilometres to go and went solo.”
Early break controlled well:
As Bagdonas said, he benefited from strong team-work by the other riders on the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly squad. Early on, a twelve man group went clear fifteen kilometres after the start. His team-mate Mark Cassidy was there to police the move, and dropped back when it became clear that it was a threat.
The source of danger was the presence of Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence), who started the day third overall and managed to bridge across to the move on the day’s second climb, Loughavaul. That was brought back 62 kilometres after the start, though, and while the break involving Simpson, Norris, O’Loughlin and the other attackers went almost immediately, it was of much less threat to his race leadership.
As a result, he’ll line out again in the yellow jersey on tomorrow’s undulating stage to Tramore. It includes six third category climbs, and his rivals will undoubtedly seek to test his grip on the general classification.
How things unfolded:
Following several very aggressive days of racing, things followed a slightly more ordered pattern on the fifth day of racing. A group of twelve riders went clear at Adrigole (km 14.8), with Adam Semple (Australia Drapac Cycling), his team-mate Rhys Pollock, Mark Cassidy (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Romain Ramier (France AVC Aix en Provence), Hector Gonzalez (Greece KTM Murica), Bernardo Riccio (Italy D'Angelo & D'Antenucci), James McCallum (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp), Steven Lampier (Britain Sigma Specialized Team), Tobyn Horton (Britain Motorpoint), Paul Oldham (Britain Scienceinsport.com), Derek Finnegan (Meath Stamullen M. Donnelly) and Neill Delahaye (Meath Dectek) all joining forces.
Semple beat Pollock, Gonzalez and Oldham to the top of the day’s first climb, the category 3 Traflask (km 16.8), and the riders went across the top of the identically-ranked Loughavaul (km 25) in the same order.
Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence) succeeded in bridging across to the break, while Finnegan and Delahaye have been dropped. This meant there were eleven leaders out front.
A large crash occurred in the peloton approximately 20 kilometres after the start and a number of riders pulled out as a result. Stage one winner Dean Downing also exited early, although his departure was an enforced one. He was disqualified for holding onto his team car.
Out front, Semple continued his strong climbing when he beat team-mate Pollock, Ramier and Mihaylov to the summit of the category 3 climb at Derrycreha (km 36.8). The break was a minute clear there and, mindful of the fact that his An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team were chasing and faced a long day pulling the bunch along, Cassidy sat up and went back to lend a hand.
Things changed after that point, with the break beginning to lose ground. Heading out of Bantry, 50 kilometres into the stage, the gap was down to 33 seconds. Semple beat Pollock, Mihaylov and Lampier to the top of
Ardyhoulihane (km 53), and there McCallum lost contact and slid back towards the peloton. Other riders in the break were also coming under pressure due to the chase behind and the increase in speed, and the whole move finally ended after 62 kilometres.
Almost immediately afterwards, Lachlann Norris (Australia Drapac Professional) and multiple Irish champion David O’Loughlin (Waterford Comeragh) clipped away. They were joined soon after by four others, namely Myron Simpson (New Zealand National Team), Johannes Kahra (Germany Thuringer Energie), Dean Windsor (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) and Tobyn Horton (Britain Motorpoint) and, with the peloton deciding the move wasn’t an immediate danger, the gap soared to four minutes.
Windsor had started the day 3 minutes 42 behind An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly’s race leader Gediminas Bagdonas, and so the Rapha Condor Sharp rider became race leader on the road. The team responded by upping its pace and, together with some riders from the Ukraine ISD Lampre team, cut the gap to two minutes. It then increased slightly again to two minutes 33 by the start of the category two Moskeagh climb, 117 kilometres after the start.
Norris was best there, taking the top points ahead of Windsor, Horton and O’Loughlin. He was strongest again on the later climb of Windy Gap (km 130.7), where the break went over the summit in the same order and he jumped clear.
With 25 kilometres remaining, his lead was one minute 35 seconds, 13 seconds more than the five chasers. With eight kilometres to go he had increased his lead to 28 seconds; Kahra, meanwhile, had cracked and slipped back to the bunch.
That peloton was ramping up the speed in an attempt to get back on terms, and with five kilometres remaining it was just 28 seconds behind Norris. He was weakening, and his former breakaway companions managed to get back to him.
Simpson realised the danger that the bunch could get back on terms and kicked clear three kilometres from the line. He pushed hard all the way and managed to hold off the charge behind, finishing four seconds clear of Horton, who just fended off the gallop of Bastian Burgel (Germany Thuringer Energie), Bernardo Riccio (Italy D’Angelo & D’Antenucci) plus the rest.
Race leader Bagdonas finished ninth in the gallop and maintained his strong advantage over his closest rivals. He’s moved one day closer to the finish of the race and with three stages left to go, is in an increasingly good position with regards to the final yellow jersey of the race.
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An Post Rás, stage 5: Castletownbere to Blarney:
1, Myron Simpson (New Zealand National Team) 156 kilometres in 3 hours 42 mins 44 secs
2, Tobyn Horton (Team Motorpoint) at 4 secs
3, Bastian Burgel (Germany Thuringer Energie)
4, Bernardo Riccio (Italy D'Angelo & D'Antenucci)
5, Jakob Steigmiller (Germany Thuringer Energie)
6, Shane Archbold (New Zealand National Team)
7, Aaron Gate (New Zealand National Team)
8, James McCallum (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp)
9, Gediminas Bagdonas (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly)
10, Ralf Matzka (Germany Thuringer Energie)
11, Peter Williams (Britain Motorpoint)
12, Erwan Brenterch (France AVC Aix en Provence)
13, Adam Yates (Britain Scienceinsport.com)
14, David McCann (Asia Giant Kenda Cycling Team)
15, Oleksandr Sheydyk (Ukraine ISD-Lampre Continental)
KOM category 3 at Traflask (km 16.8)
1, Adam Semple (Australia Drapac Cycling) 5pts
2, Rhys Pollock (Australia Drapac Cycling) 4
3, Hector Gonzalez (Greece KTM Murica) 3
4, Paul Oldham (Britain Scienceinsport.com) 2
KOM category 3 at Loughavaul (km 25):
1, Adam Semple (Australia Drapac Cycling) 5
2, Rhys Pollock (Australia Drapac Cycling) 4
3, Hector Gonzalez (Greece KTM Murica) 3
4, Paul Oldham (Britain Scienceinsport.com) 2
KOM category 3 at Derrycreha (km 36.8):
1, Adam Semple (Australia Drapac Cycling) 5
2, Rhys Pollock (Australia Drapac Cycling) 4
3, Romain Ramier (France AVC Aix en Provence) 3
4, Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence) 2
KOM category 3 at Ardyhoulihane (km 53):
1, Adam Semple (Australia Drapac Cycling) 5
2, Rhys Pollock (Australia Drapac Cycling) 4
3, Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence) 3
4, Steven Lampier (Britain Sigma Specialized Team) 2
KOM category 2 at Moskeagh (km 120.2):
1, Lachlann Norris (Australia Drapac Cycling) 10
2, Dean Windsor (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) 8
3, Tobyn Horton (Britain Motorpoint) 6
4, David O'Loughlin (Waterford Comeragh) 4
5, Myron Simpson (New Zealand National Team) 3
6, Johannes Kahra (Germany Thuringer Energie) 1
KOM category 2 at Windy Gap (km 130.7):
1, Lachlann Norris (Australia Drapac Cycling) 10
2, Dean Windsor (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) 8
2, Tobyn Horton (Britain Motorpoint) 6
4, David O'Loughlin (Waterford Comeragh) 4
5, Myron Simpson (New Zealand National Team) 3
6, Johannes Kahra (Germany Thuringer Energie) 1
Cuchulainn Crystal county rider:
1, Michael O'Reilly (Carlow Dan Morrisey Better Bld) 3 hours 42 mins 48 secs
2, Christopher Coyle (Mayo Western Edge Medical Comm)
3, Neill Delahaye (Meath Dectek) both same time
International team:
1, New Zealand, 11 hours 8 mins 20 secs
2, Germany Thuringer Energie, at 4 secs
3, Britain Motorpoint
4, Britain Scienceinsport.com
5, Britain Rapha Condor Sharp, all same time
County team:
1, Carlow Dan Morrissey, 11 hours 8 mins 24 secs
2, Donegal Sportactive/Engraveit, same time
3, Dublin Eurocycles, at 17 mins 1 sec
4, Mayo Western Edge Medical, at 9 mins 38 secs
5, Meath Dectek, at 9 mins 39 secs
General classification after five stages:
1, Gediminas Bagdonas (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 20 hours 22 mins 3 secs
2, Oleksandr Sheydyk (Ukraine ISD-Lampre Continental) at 1 min 16 secs
3, Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence) same time
4, Peter Williams (Britain Motorpoint) at 1 min 27 secs
5, Aaron Gate (New Zealand National Team) at 1 min 31 secs
6, Floris Goesinnen (Australia Drapac Cycling)
7, Simon Richardson (Britain Sigma Specialized Team) both same time
8, Shane Archbold (New Zealand National Team) at 2 mins 17 secs
9, Stuart Shaw (Australia Drapac Cycling) at 2 mins 21 secs
10, Anatoliy Pakhtusov (Ukraine ISD-Lampre Continental) same time
11, Dean Windsor (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) at 3 mins 42 secs
12, Sean Downey (Ireland Team Skoda) at 3 mins 48 secs
13, James Sampson (Britain Motorpoint) same time
14, Wouter Sybrandy (Britain Sigma Specialized Team) at 4 mins
15, David McCann (Asia Giant Kenda Cycling Team) at 9 mins 21 secs
Irish Sports Council Under 23:
1, Aaron Gate (New Zealand National Team) 20 hours 23 mins 34 secs
2, Shane Archbold (New Zealand National Team) at 46 secs
3, Sean Downey (Ireland Team Skoda) at 2 mins 17 secs
4, Jakob Steigmiller (Germany Thuringer Energie) at 10 mins 35 secs
5, Menso de Jong (USA Wonderful Pistachios) same time
Fitz Cycles county rider:
1, Adam Armstrong (Dublin Eurocycles) 20 hours 31 mins 45 secs
2, Tim Barry (Carlow Dan Morrisey Better Bld) at 2 mins 37 secs
3, Anthony Walsh (Dublin UCD) same time
4, Derek Finnegan (Meath Stamullen M. Donnelly) at 7 mins 48 secs
5, Conor Murphy (Dublin Eurocycles) at 9 mins 10 secs
CI category 2:
1, Christopher Coyle (Mayo Western Edge Medical Comm) 21 hours 3 mins 55 secs
2, John Dempsey (Donegal LK Bikes) at 8 mins 22 secs
3, Mark Gill (Dublin South Dublin Zilcom) at 8 mins 49 secs
4, Ciaran Clarke (Mayo Western Edge Medical Comm) at 26 mins 41 secs
5, Sean McFadden (Donegal LK Bikes) at 43 mins 51 secs
Post Office points classification:
1, Gediminas Bagdonas (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 51
2, Shane Archbold (New Zealand National Team) 50
3, Tobyn Horton (Britain Motorpoint) 35
4, Erwan Brenterch (France AVC Aix en Provence) 29
5, Aaron Gate (New Zealand National Team) 26
One4All Bikes4Work King of the Mountains:
1, Oleksandr Sheydyk (Ukraine ISD-Lampre Continental) 36
2, Javier Benitez Pomares (Greece KTM Murica) 35
3, Salvador Guardiola (Greece KTM Murica) 30
4, Mark McNally (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 22
5, Nikolay Mihaylov (France AVC Aix en Provence) 21
International team:
1, Britain Motorpoint, 61 hours 12 mins 49 secs
2, Belgium An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly, at 3 mins 1 sec
3, Australia Drapac Cycling, at 9 mins 18 secs
4, France AVC Aix en Provence, at 10 mins 22 secs
5, Britain Sigma Specialized, at 10 mins 58 secs
County team:
1, Carlow Dan Morrissey, 62 hours 22 mins 36 secs
2, Dublin Eurocycles, at 11 mins 12 secs
3, Mayo Western Edge Medical, at 51 mins 1 sec
4, Donegal Sportactive/Engraveit, at 56 mins 16 secs
5, Dublin UCD, at 1 hour 22 mins 36 secs