Conor Dunne drives on the front of the breakaway. His efforts saw him out front all day and earned a trip to the podium in the 200km race (Photo: Fabienne Vanheste)
Now famed for his breakaway efforts in the pro peloton, Conor Dunne put a fantastic ride at Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne (1.HC) yesterday.
The 202km race, feature a clutch of short steep bergs around the midway point, saw Dunne in the escape.
And while eventually caught in the closing stages, he was deemed most aggressive on the day; claiming that prize and a trip to the podium.
“It wasn’t actually the plan for me to be in the breakaway today,” said Dunne afterwards.
“I was at the front when it went and I just decided to cover it. And that ended up being the move of the day.
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“It wasn’t easy to establish it by any means. The teams that missed it were chasing hard. So we really had to dig deep to get the gap.
“Because of the headwind at the finish, the peloton gave us a bit of a leeway. We rested a bit when we got the gap and pushed a bit on the climbs.
“The group worked hard to stay away, especially in the crosswind sections. I thought we would get caught earlier. But there were strong guys in the break.
“It was nice to get to the podium and get some free honey and waffles,” he added.
Conor Dunne in the escape, Direct Energie get the chase underway, Viviani wins (Photos by Aqua Blue Sport and FabienneVanheste)
Conor Dunne would go clear with David Boucher and Ylber Sefa (Tarteletto-Isorex), Tanner Putt (United-Healthcare), Sean Bennett (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Brian Van Goethem (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij).
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Combining well, they pulled out a gap of over eight minutes on the peloton.
The breakaway was still working very well when they hit the most testing part of the course. The Kemmelberg, a cobbled 400 metre ramp, was first up.
And from that point the racing was on; though the men up front held firm and continued to plug away.
About two thirds into the contest, Direct Energie and QuickStep began what looked like a more urgent chase.
As a result of those efforts, not to mention the fatiguing bodies in the escape, the gap began to come down. Soon the advantage was down to about five minutes.
Under the pressure of the case and the crosswinds around De Moeren, the main field would split.
However, despite the need by many to engage in frantic chasing, it soon came back together.
And as the final 26km loop approached, the gap was now well down and nearing the one minute mark.
??@eliaviviani of ??@quickstepteam wins ??@Driedaagse_ #Driedaagse pic.twitter.com/cHg5tYxuI5
— World Cycling Stats (@wcstats) March 21, 2018
The escape would whittle down to just three men, Dunne among them, by the time it was caught. But that catch was indeed made; with 10km to go.
And from that point it was a race between lead-out teams to see who could unleash their sprinters best.
Furthermore, the main field would split again in the crosswinds. But QuickStep was up to the challenge and its sprinter Elia Viviani who would win the day.
He won ahead of Pascal Ackermann (Bora-hansgrohe) and Jasper Philipsen (Hagens Berman-Axeon).
Aqua Blue Sport’s best placed man was former British champion Adam Blythe. Currently still recovering from illness, he managed to take 9th place.
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