Irish TT champion Conn McDunphy enjoyed an impressive
ride yesterday when he was up the road for about 190km at Tour du Doubs (1.1),
racing against some of the biggest teams in the world.
Having taken the step up to Continental level with EvoPro Racing in recent weeks, McDunphy (24) has been making the most of his chances. His time out front yesterday in France only came to an end when he was caught on the last climb of the day, deep inside the final 10km of the 201km race.
Compatriot and team mate Dillon Corkery also made the breakaway. However, having been suffering from stomach problems overnight, the Irish U23 international was forced out of the action yesterday before the halfway point.
His breakaway ride, though cut short, came just two days after he spent much of the 173km Classic Grand Besançon Doubs (1.1) in the breakaway; the 22-year-old clearly making good use of his Tour de l'Avenir legs since stepping up to Continental level in recent weeks.
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Irish team EvoPro Racing set out to put men in the breakaway yesterday and when the main move of the day went shortly after the start they had three riders present; Corkery, McDunphy and Spanish rider Bernat Font.
In that 12-man breakaway with the two Irish riders and Font were: Mattia Bais (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Cédric Beullens (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Andrea di Renzo (Vini Zabu’), Pavol Rovder (Dukla Banska Bystrica), Raphaël Parisella (Rally Cycling), Damian Lüscher (Swiss Racing Academy), Jesse Raas (X-Speed United Continental), Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa Samsic) and Simone Sano (Electro Hiper Europa).
With more than 2,000 metres of climbing in the first
80km, the breakaway got down to business and over those first four climbs they
stretched out their lead up to 10:40 at one point.
However, after the halfway point a more focused chase began back in the peloton. With teams like Groupama-FDJ and AG2R Citroën aiding the chase, the gap tumbled as the riders raced towards the finish in Pontarlier.
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Dorian Godon @AG2RCITROENTEAM s'est imposé dans un sprint dans un peloton de 18 coureurs à Pontarlier sur le #TourduDoubs . Il a devancé @BiniamGrmaye @IntermarcheWG et @Tom_paquot @bingoalpauwels #lesrp #cyclisme #cycling #wielrennen pic.twitter.com/N6s3luX4v9
— 🚴 Les Rois du Peloton 🚲 (@LRoisDuPeloton) September 5, 2021
News of the falling time gap appeared to spook some of
the riders in the breakaway and the cooperation that had marked their earlier
endeavours began to ebb away. After the gap dropped below two minutes, EvoPro’s
Font was among those riders who attacked from the breakaway, though he was
caught and later dropped.
As the leaders raced through the 10km to go marker, and having shed a few men, they had just 40 seconds on the bunch. McDunphy went for broke with an attack on the final climb of the day, topped out with just over 5km to go.
He managed to split the front group but the peloton was also closing in and breaking up as it raced up the climb, with Arkéa-Samsic leading the charge. The front of the peloton then swept passed the breakaway riders, with attacks from Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ) ramping up the speed.
In the end a group of 18 riders pulled clear over that last climb and down the short descent into the finish - including Quintana, Pinot, Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) and Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën), among others - for the final sprint.
The victory went to Dorian Godon (AG2R
Citroën) from Biniam Ghirmay Hailu (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert
Matériaux) and Tom Paquot (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB).
After his breakaway heroics, McDunphy rode in to the finish after being caught
and eventually finished in 75th at 3:07.
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