Matthew Devins has climbed his way to a top 10 on the queen stage of Flèche du Sud in Luxembourg today, with rising Belgian star Thibau Nys (Baloise-Trek Lions) taking stage victory.
Devins, a Trinity Racing rider competing on the Irish team this week, placed 9th some 16 seconds behind the winner. The 19-year-old may have finished in the top five had his positioning been a little better on the lower slopes of the climb.
His Team Ireland team mate, Dean Harvey, also performed well; the first-year U23 rider placing 25th at 49 seconds on a day when the main field had been whittled right down even before the final climb up to the finish line began.
With seven climbs on the course today - some 126.7km starting and finished in Bourscheid - it was a wearing down process from the start. The remains of the bunch numbered about 50 riders by the time it arrived at the base of the final climb - 3.3km with an average gradient of 7.7 per cent - to battle it out.
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Daire Feeley, who is on the Irish U23 team this week as an experienced road captain, focused today on positioning Devins and Harvey for the finishing climb. And while Devins followed the experienced Feeley into a good spot in the peloton on the approach to the climb, he lost his wheel just before the road kicked up.
That slip up cost Devins quite a few placings in the bunch, though he continued to pick his way through riders up the climb and was placed about 15th just before the 1km to go marker.
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At that point, eventual stage winner Nys made his move; the reigning U23 European road race champion - and son of Belgian legend Sven Nys - attacking hard and getting a gap.
A number of riders tried to go after Nys, which resulted in the front of the bunch splitting in the final surge to the line. Devins continued to work away and ended the stage 9th; a great result at this level, especially on such a hard uphill finish.
Aside from Devins and Harvey, Feeley ended at the day in 39th at 1:52. Liam Curley was was 57th, finishing in group at 12:04, while Odhran Doogan was 81st at 15:14 and Adam Kelly was 97th at 15:27.
Tomorrow's stage 4 is not as hilly as today, though there are several short and sharp climbs before a flatter concluding stage on Sunday. Best placed of the Irish overall, after three stages of five, is Devins, who sits 29th at 1:36.
