Connor McConvey (Synergy Baku) pushes the pace on the cobbles atop the Michaelgate climb in yesterday's Lincoln GP
The Irish riders in the Lincoln GP in England yesterday experienced a mixed bag, with a number failing to finish but Peter Hawkins, Connor McConvey and Ryan Mullen all putting in good rides.
The race was won by Peter Kennaugh of Team Sky riding for an Isle of Man selection, who forced the pace up the 1 in 6 Michaelgate climb with five of 13 laps remaining in the 105 mile race.
He went clear with Marcin Bialoblocki (UK Youth) and Tom Scully, a New Zealander riding for Raleigh.
Scully would lose touch with his two breakaway companions in the latter stages before Kennaugh simply overwhelmed Poland’s Bialoblocki on the last lap and soloed to a great win the last time up the cobbled climb.
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The race behind the leaders would fracture in the closing stages, with six riders going clear from what remained of the bunch, though not all of them would survive to the finish.
In the end, Ireland’s best finisher was Hawkins (IG Sigma Sport) who came home in a group sprinting for 8th and managed to get third in that charge, for 10th place on the day.
He was 3:04 down while McConvey (Synergy Baku) came home in 16th in the same group as Hawkins; just a couple of seconds back as that group split a little last time up the tough climb to the finish.
Ryan Mullen (IG Sigma Sport) put in an excellent ride in his first year out of the juniors. Despite the fact that he is regarded as a powerhouse rider rather than a climber, the teenager coped very well with the terrain and finished in 35th place some 3:19 down after stopping to give team mate Hawkins a wheel when the Belfast man broke a spoke. It meant he effectively finished just 14 seconds down on Hawkins in 10th.
On the same time as Mullen was former Irish international and FBD Rás winner Andrew Roche who was riding for the Isle of Man. Aaron Buggle (Rapha Condor JLT) was also in the field and was riding for former winner and his team leader Kristian House. Buggle chased down a number of moves for him and gave him a wheel when he needed it.
“I did a lot of work and the race was over for me at the halfway point but I was very happy with how I went and I’m looking forward to the Rás now,” he said after the race.
None of the Connacht team – which included Nigel Forde, Paddy Clarke, Charles Prendergast, Ciaran Clarke and Mike Ryder – was listed in the finishers.
McConvey and Hawkins appeared to be among some of the strongest riders in the race, with both on the attack second time up the 13 ascents of the famed Michaelgate climb and taking second and third on the climb prime. McConvey was third on the fifth passage as well.
Hawkins, said while he was relatively satisfied with the result, which moves him into third place overall in the British Premier Calendar standings, he felt he could have been on the podium if things had worked out a little better.
He focussed very much on staying well positioned up the climb each lap. But while he was in the right splits a number of times going over the top, the groups he was with never pressed home their advantage meaning the work done up the climb counted for nothing.
He said at one point when a crash occurred right beside him he managed to stay upright but broke a spoke.
“Ryan Mullen gave me his wheel but when I got going again I found myself in a group off the back of the bunch with no convoy in between. Wouter Sybrandy did a great job closing a big gap to the bunch so the incident cost me pretty much no energy at all.”
“It's awesome to have that kind of support and it really makes the difference at the end of a hard race. Ryan got back into the group and was looking really strong all the way to the end. I knew it wouldn't be long before he showed his class at this level and I think we're just starting to see it now.”
Hawkins added when Kennaugh initially went clear with Scully and Bialoblocki he felt he still had plenty left and was determined to press that home. But in the end he missed a key split on the penultimate passage of the climb when six riders went clear and most of them stayed away.
“I almost bridged the gap on my own but didn't quite make it. So I ended up in what was left of the bunch. I was kicking myself after the race for missing the two splits; I think a podium would've been possible.”
However, he said Kennaugh appeared to be on a different level and it would have been hard to take the victory from him.
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“I’m pleased with my form and my consistency, it’s over a year since I was last out of the top 10 in a Premier Calendar and I’m well in the hunt for this year’s series.”
With a Tour Series criterium to ride in Durham on Thursday night, Hawkins cannot yet turn his attention to the Rás starting next Sunday. He feels he can pull off a result there and says the team selected is a very strong one.
Another man who has already done well in the Rás is McConvey and having just taken the climbers’ classification at the Tour of Azerbaijan in the past two weeks he is also in good form and ready to go for next week.
“It was a decent race; hard racing, especially since I was alone for a lot of it,” he said of yesterday.
“I wanted a hard race as part of my build up for the Rás, so I made sure I rode an aggressive race and I was away a few times.”
“The result didn’t really happen for me in the end. I kind of expected the English teams to close the gap to the three up the road but they didn't. So the race for the win was pretty much over with 20km to go.”
“But on a positive side, it was a perfect race to go to; real aggressive racing all day and the body feels in decent condition after it. I’ll have a few more days of quality training and then it’ll be time to get fresh for the weekend.”
Aaron Buggle (left, in black kit) did not finish but said he worked hard and is looking forward to the Rás
Peter Hawkins on the front of an early escape with Connor McConvey for company just behind him
McConvey (far left) seems to have a new attitude this year and should do well in the Rás if he gets a bit of luck
Hawkins (in red and black kit) digs in on the cobbles as the road evens out after the hill
Ryan Mullen (far left) is in his first year out of the juniors and put in a great ride yesterday
Peter Kennaugh of Team Sky, but riding for the Isle of Man, enjoys his moment after making it look easy
Marcin Bialoblocki (UK Youth) is in great form and took second ahead of his departure for Ireland to ride the Rás
Lachlan Norris (Team Raleigh) came through with a late charge to take third place
Peter Hawkins is interviewed for the TV cameras before the race
Here's a video race report:
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