An Post Chainreaction: We controlled Rás like pro team
Two of An Post-Chainreaction's stage winners, Matt Teggart and Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz. They are pictured with a man who did a lot of work to support them, Sean McKenna.
By Shane Stokes
The final overall classification may have eluded the An Post Chain Reaction team this time around, but there was plenty to smile about at the end of Rás 2017 on Sunday.
The team was aggressive all day long, firing off attacks early on and placing Sean McKenna in the initial 20 man breakaway group.
It then added stage three winner Matthew Teggart to the break when he and some others bridged across.
That group was eventually pulled back but then Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz came to the fore.
He was responding to efforts by Australian Michael Storer to wrest the mountains jersey off his shoulders.
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Storer picked up a total of twelve points on the second, third and fourth climbs of the day, slashing his overnight deficit of 19 points.
However Kasperkiewicz wasn’t going to stand by and allow his jersey to be taken away.
He bounced back by taking maximum points on the penultimate climb.
He then pushed ahead with Storer and his Australian teammate Samuel Jenner, Jerome Mainard (France Armée de Terre) and Irishman Mark Dowling (Cork Strata3-VeloRevolution).
The Pole cemented his win in the mountains classification when he followed Storer across the summit of the day’s final climb.
To top it all, he then finished a length clear in the sprint for the stage win.
“Today I would especially like to say thank you to the team,” he said after the stage.
“It was a perfect ride, a pro team ride today. We controlled the race and it was an amazing job by the team.
“Of course after a few kilometres there was a big breakaway with Sean.
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"Then the Australians started to ride hard and there was another small group just behind. I was there with Sean.
"And then also Matthew was in the first group. It was a fantastic ride, we controlled the race.
"Just before the last lap I jumped for the GPM points and then I saw the breakaway was gone.
"So then I tried to save some energy for the sprint, and then I won. That was fantastic.”
Asked if he was nervous about Storer’s efforts to recapture the mountains jersey, Kasperkiewicz confirmed he had been wary about what might happen.
Polish hitman Kasper after wrapping up the climbers' classification and taking stage victory in Skerries. Not a bad day out.
“They are so strong,” he said. “To be honest, I think JLT (the JLT Condor team of race winner James Gullen) was also lucky today," he said.
"The guy from Australia punctured, otherwise I think we don’t catch the first group. I think I was just stronger in the sprint.
"They are really strong on the climb and the flat section, but in the end for the sprint I was the best. So I think I have to be happy.”
Aside from his stage win, he finished seven points clear of Storer in the King of the Mountains classification.
And he helped the An Post Chain Reaction squad to second overall in the team classification.
Next up is a one week rest, with team manager Kurt Bogaerts saying that his race programme will be determined after that break.
The team had a fine showing in the race, winning stage three with Teggart, taking stage five with Regan Gough, holding yellow for a stage and then clocking up its third stage win with Kasperkiewicz on Sunday.
It also had three riders in the top fifteen, namely Shaw in fifth, Teggart in ninth and Sean McKenna in 15th.
It is now searching for a replacement sponsor for 2018 after An Post confirmed it would not continue beyond the current season.
Those strong results should help that quest, and will hopefully ensure the project has a healthy future.
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