Archie Ryan's general classification aspirations may have faded in recent days at Tour de l'Avenir, with a crash not helping his cause, but he has now bounced back with a stage victory.
Ryan proved himself one of the best U23 climbers in the world during the 2022 edition of the event, dubbed the U23 Tour de France, and today he reconfirmed that status with stage victory delivered through aggression and sheer ability.
On the mainly uphill 70km stage to the summit of Val Cenis Col du Mont he was best of the riders at the pointy end, winning in great style for Team Ireland.
A tour that has been filled with ups and downs for Ryan and his teammates, today's triumph is one that the team is more than deserving of. Ryan's name was present on tongues and familiar with ears early on in this stage as he found himself as part of a 13-rider breakaway group.
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Following a pursuit courtesy of the yellow jersey group, Ryan's breakaway would soon become a lead of the race, filled with elite riders by the 30km to go mark with several GC contenders featuring.
A furious pace was set by the lead riders as former yellow jersey holder Simon Dalby along with several other names found themselves drifting from the wheels in front of them. However, Archie Ryan defied the rhythm of the race with a brilliant launch with just under 10km left to finish.
An attack with devastated the remaining riders in the pack, Ryan built a healthy lead of 20 seconds with two minutes of setting off. A gap which would only grow over the next 5km, Ryan managed to open a massive 35 seconds between himself the remnants of the yellow jersey group.
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Stage 6 winner Isaac del Toro Romero was one of two men, along with Italy's Giulio Pellizzari, who sought to pursue the Irishman within the final 5km. A valiant effort from the Mexican was ultimately proved futile by the brilliant Archie Ryan as he crossed over the line, hands raised in joy, victorious on stage 7.
An excellent performance from Ryan should also not distract from the great effort of Kevin McCambridge in the 11km time trial which preceded Ryan's victory. McCambridge managed a 14th place in a challenging uphill course, finishing within 2 minutes of the eventual winner Matthew Riccitello of the United States.
A day that the Irish have earned at the Tour de l'Avenir has presented itself on stage 7, and we still have one more day to go.
More to come.
☘️ L’As de Trèfle @rrchieryan#TDAV #TourdelAvenir ✨ pic.twitter.com/dnkTHzDhCX
— Tour de l'Avenir (@tourdelavenir) August 26, 2023
