Michael O’Loughlin has said he was delighted with his TT ride at the European Games in Minsk where he placed well inside the top 10.
The U23 rider, who competes for Team Wiggins but was riding
for Ireland in Belarus, put in a very good account of himself in the elite field
featuring some big names.
Asked how he felt to place 6th in the European Games he
said: “It feels good, I’m really happy with sixth.
“I wanted a top ten, and in that I thought I’d be ninth or tenth. But to actually end up sixth and close enough with the top five; I’m pretty overwhelmed with that.
“To have five really strong guys, five guys who are on
the WorldTour just ahead of me is quite good. So I’m happy with that.”
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After his ride O’Loughlin went into the hot seat, reserved for the fastest riders at any one time while the TT was still underway.
“I forget who was on the start list in that middle wave
and nobody came through quicker so I ended up being there for an extra half an
hour than I thought I’d be,” he laughed.
“I knew there was strong guys in that last wave and even
with Mullen, because I was sat in 3rd; I knew Mullen was going to knock me off
anyway,” he said of team mate Ryan Mullen, who finished 4th.
“But I was still pretty happy to be sat up there, up beside Kiryienka and Bagdonas; that wasn’t too bad.”
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O’Loughlin said the course in Minsk was a very fast one, a view echoed by other riders competing for their countries today.
He now faced a quick turnaround for the National Road Championships; the TT event set to open proceedings on Thursday afternoon
Furthermore, he was looking forward to the remainder of
the season, including the European Road and TT Championships in Alkmaar,
Holland, in August.
“I’d really like to give (the Europeans) a go and this is a good confidence boost for them,” he said of his ride today in Minsk.
Over the 28.6km course today, Vasil Kiryienka was best in a time of 33:03; the Belarusian rider retaining the European Games title he took four years ago.
The former world champion, who rides for
Team Ineos, was 28 seconds clear of Nelson Oliveira, the Portuguese Movistar rider, taking silver.
And in the bronze medal position was Jan Barta; riding these days for Continental team (Elkov-Author Cycling) but competing today for the Czech Republic.
Barta was 37 seconds
off the gold and Ryan Mullen was just one second slower, being forced to settle
for 4th place.
Just behind him came
Lithuania Gediminas Bagdonas, the former Rás Tailteann winner and long-time
AG2R-La Mondiale rider.
Bagdonas was 5th and
1:13 with Michael O’Loughlin next; in 6th place and 1:29 off the 33:03 recorded
by Kiryienka.
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