Irish cyclist Jake Gray is basing himself in France this year and racing over the border in Spain at the weekend he got off to an attacking start, above. He appears to have wintered well and looks in good form.
Irish cyclist Jake Gray gets season off to strong start
Irish U23 international Jake Gray has gotten his season off to an aggressive start. The 19-year-old was 4th from 140 starters in the Volta a Marina Parcent.
The field would split on the undulating course in the south west of Spain. Gray emerged out front in the select group after the Col de Rates.
As those he was with chased the lone leader, Raúl Portillo (Norinver), Gray attacked hard and split the group.
He initially went clear with British U23 rider Paul Double (Zappi Racing Team).
They pressed on sharing the workload, before four others bridged the gap to them as the finish approached.
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And with the lone leader hanging on for victory, Gray was 3rd in the uphill sprint for 4th place on the day.
Now a second-year U23 rider, Jake Gray has already moved into the U23 Irish set-up.
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He was one of around a dozen riders who assembled for an Irish team camp in Calpe last month.
The VC Toucy rider was already part of the selection last year. He got invaluable experience in the Nations Cup races in the early season.
And along with fellow Irishman Agus Fyffe he would make the breakaway at Gent-Wevelgem.
He will look to make the Nations Cup team again for the early season U23 classics and is hopeful of making an impression.
Riding for the Nicolas Roche Performance Team as a junior he topped the Cycling Ireland rankings in 2015. And in 2016 he claimed the junior national road race title.
Gray also represented Ireland at the World Championships and Europeans as a junior cyclist.
We'll have an interview with him soon about his plans for 2018 and his training over the winter. In the meantime, the clip below is from his race at the weekend.
It's set to begin just as he attacks from the select group, followed by the finale of the event.
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