One of the quiet achievers of the 2019 season, young Irishman Daire Feeley has notched another very strong ride in the pro game.
The 22-year-old, riding for EvoPro
Racing, was in action yesterday in the 199.5km Tour de Vendée (1.1) in France.
As has been the case through the season,
he was riding for team mates; this time Wouter Wippert and Aaron Gate.
But when those two riders suffered late
mechanicals on three laps of the lumpy 6km finishing circuit, the team’s hopes
of a result took a dent.
However, Feeley stayed with the lead
group, which had whittled right down in the crosswinds of the opening 100km and
hilly closing laps.
And in the end while his 36th place perhaps does not tell the story of his ride. he was just 12 seconds down on winner Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ).
Advertisement
After a breakaway was caught, Sarreau
was part of a group of four that fought it out for the victory after pulling
clear in the uphill finale.
He beat Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) to
the finish line with Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels) in 3rd and Benoît
Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) was 4th.
After the crosswinds in the first half
of the race had taken their toll, the finishing circuits included a 1km climb
on what was an up and down lap.
While the pressure reduced the front
group to about 40 riders, Feeley and team mate Luke Mudgway made it all the
way.
Related News
Feeley told stickybottle the climb on
the circuit took its toll on his legs, especially given the speed of the
finale.
He added he had more to learn about
riding at this level but was satisfied he was making progress.
“I have the legs to do
much better but my race craft is lacking and it’s something that only improves
with racing and riding with the more experienced guys,” he said.
“Hopefully I can carry
it all forward into 2020 and learn from some of my mistakes and really do
myself and the team justice.
“Riding with EvoPro
this year has been a great opportunity from Morgan Fox and it’s one that I have
really enjoyed.”
Feeley has had
something of a step-up season in that he has been racing at a much higher level
than before.
He has travelled all
over Europe, working for a team that has secured eight wins in its maiden campaign.
Feeley has aided the team work that resulted in those wins, meaning his personal
results through the year do not reflect the quality of his riding.
However, from the start
of the campaign when he rode and finished all four races in Challenge Mallorca,
he has developed a habit of banking quality races and almost never failing to
finish.
It means he heads into
the off season soon in the knowledge he has made a big transition in 2019; a
season he can use as foundation going forward.
Topics
