Dutch win in Kilkenny as Team Ireland steps up at Rás na mBan

*Holland's Loes Adegeest of Team Jan Van Arckel wins today's stage 2 at Rás na mBan (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)*

Dutch rider Loes Adegeest has won stage 2 at Rás na mBan on a day when the selection was made after the road went up. Former Irish road race champion, Alice Sharpe, was among the small breakaway that rode away from the rest of the field.

After making the group that fought it out for stage
honours in Piltown, Sharpe was a bit disappointed with 3rd on the stage. But
she is now 2nd overall and perfectly placed for a general classification
assault.

Behind the breakaway today, a nine-rider group formed and
it included stage 1 winner and race leader Kaia Schmid. The US junior – who was crowned world junior champion on
the track just last weekend – put in a stout defence of her race lead with her
Lux Cycling team, though they came up short.

Team Ireland’s Imogen Cotter and Kelly Murphy were also in the chasing group and did their best to disrupt it, in defence of team mate Sharpe in the breakaway.

*Fiona Mangan off the front in an early breakaway effort before the race split on the first of two passages of the main climb (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)*

The breakaway went clear 56km into the 90km stage as the main field raced up the Templorum climb for the first of two passages, where Ireland's Murphy and Cotter pressed on the front. The pace they applied resulted in the race splitting to pieces, with the four-rider breakaway going clear at that point.

With the Great Britain pair in that group, along with Sharpe and former Parkhotel Valkenburg rider Adegeest, there was no shortage of firepower.

When the breakaway passed through the start-finish area to take the bell, with one 20km loop ahead of them, they had 47 seconds on the chasers. However, by the time the leaders reached the Templeorum climb for the second time the gap was about 1:15.

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After the climb things became more tactical up front and that saw the gap to the chasers gradually closing all the way to the finish in Piltown. And while Great Britain had two riders up front it was Adegeest who proved fastest in the sprint; taking the victory from Smith, Sharpe and Shackley in that order.

*The peloton pictured on the road to Piltown before the race was blown to pieces on the climb(Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)*

Just 35 seconds elapsed before the chasing group sprinted
over the line in the scrap for 5th place; race leader Schmid winning that
gallop but not having done enough to keep the race lead.

Kelly Murphy was 8th on the stage and Imogen Cotter 10th. The first big group to finish – 35 riders sprinting for 14th place - was 4:05 down. Josie Knight of the Great Britain team led them in.

It was a very strong team performance by the Irish team today as early in the stage they deployed Mia Griffin and Fiona Mangan to cover the many attacks.

That meant their three team mates - Sharpe, Cotter and Murphy - could save as much energy as possible. That trio then combined very well at the key moment of the stage; splitting the race on the climb and getting Sharpe clear.

*The top women today, left to right: Abi Smith of Team GB 2nd on the stage, stage winner Loes Adegeest and 3rd placed Alice Sharpe of Team Ireland (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan)*

The four breakaway riders today are now the top four overall, all on the same time. Smith leads overall from Sharpe with Shackley 3rd and today’s stage winner Adegeest in 4th. Race leader Smith, who was also 2nd yesterday, now also leads the points classification and the young rider classification.

There is then a 35-second gap back to the next group of eight riders, also all equal on time, headed by stage 1 winner Kaia Schmid and including Ireland's Cotter and Murphy.

The Kilkenny County Council best Irish rider classification is now led by Linda Kelly of Cycling Munster ahead of tomorrow’s stage 3 to The Cut in Co Laois. Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis-Redchilli Bikes-Heidi Kje) leads the climbers’ classification.