Oh Happy Days: A year after his team took two Rás stage wins in its first season on the road, Jan Sokol of Synergy Baku lashes his way into Charleville and into the race's history books this afternoon (Photo: Ramsey Cardy - Sportsfile)
By Shane Stokes
Stage three winner of the An Post Rás, Jan Sokol has admitted he was worried about Irish rider Roger Aiken and Irish-born Robert Jon McCarthy in today’s finale into Charleville, saying he had to play things tactically to get the upper hand.
The Azerbaijan Synergy Baku rider was part of a nine-man break that went clear early, built a four minute lead and had just enough in hand to hold off the speeding peloton in the final kilometre.
He remained calm when Aiken attacked and once the Louth North rider was brought back Sokol made sure to be in the right place for the sprint.
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He won ahead of Riccardo Pichetta (Italy Team IDEA 2010 ASD) and Oliver Wood (Great Britain National Team).
Speaking to stickybottle in the video interview below, Sokol said the two attacks by Aiken inside the final two kilometres were dangerous.
“I was quite [worried] but I still some power,” he said.
“It was just how much I could save until the finish. I wanted to be as good as possible so I always waited for somebody else to get back the breakaway out of the group.”
McCarthy won Sunday’s first stage and also took a stage win in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour at the start of the year. He’s a very fast finisher and while Sokol is also known as a sprinter, he said that he was wary of his rival.
“I was really concerned about him and I always had an eye on him,” he said.
However, the drag inside the final kilometre helped him to get the better of his opponents.
“With this short little uphill before the last 200 metres, it was a really hard sprint. It was just who had the legs out of the corner.”
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The team has now clocked up a stage win and also has Markus Eibegger in fourth overall and Christoph Schweizer in eighteenth.
Sokol said the team, directed on this race by former Rás winner David McCann and with another Irish man David McQuaid as general manager, wants to achieve more success in the remaining days.
“We will always try to cover the breakaways because this will keep the pressure off our guys,” he stated.
“We will take the race day by day and also go for the stages. I think that Markus and also Christophe can stay well in the GC.”
As for bunch gallops or similar moves to today, he confirmed he would like to chase another victory.
“Sure,” he said, “I can wait for sprints too. We have three good sprinters here so maybe some other guys will try to get in the breakaway too and I will have my day to rest in the peloton tomorrow.”
Watch the video to see his reaction to today’s stage plus his impression of the An Post Rás thus far.
Jan Sokol speaks to Shane Stokes in Charleville
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