Ireland’s Scully lights up final stage as August, Askey win big at Junior Tour

*Conal Scully up the road solo on the final stage of the Junior Tour of Ireland into Ennis today (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

The Irish team may have taken a battering on stage 1 of the Junior Tour – when Oisin Ferrity and Quillan Donnelly both crashed out with broken bones – but Conal Scully has ended the race on a high for the team.

The Irish TT champion lit up the last day of racing with a long solo attack today. And though it was unsuccessful it was a great effort, with the Carlow teenager also wrapping up the king of the mountains classification.

The big winners today were Andrew August, a
16-year-old American rider with the Hot Tubes team, and Ben Askey of Britain’s Bäckstedt Bike Performance as they took overall and
stage victory today.

August wore the yellow jersey into the final stage and retained it, going on the front himself to chase down breakaways, to become the 2022 race champion. It was a remarkable achievement considering his age and the fact he was down to just one team mate after three members of Hot Tubes were taken out with Covid-19 during the race.

August laid the foundation for his overall win by claiming victory on stage 4 from a two-man breakaway and taking the yellow jersey for his efforts. He retained the race leader with a strong and assured display over the last two days.

*Yellow jersey Andrew August on the front of the bunch during today's final stage into Ennis (Photo: Sean Rowe)*

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It was a performance that strongly suggests we will be seeing a lot more of August in the years ahead. He had already announced himself to the cycling world by taking 5^th place in the junior men’s race at the World Cyclocross Championships in the US at the start of the year.

August claimed Junior Tour overall victory from a trio of Bäckstedt Bike Performance; Lucas Jowett 2nd at 37 seconds, Mattie Dodd 3rd at 44 seconds and Ben Askey 4th overall at 52 seconds. Best Irish finisher overall was Adam Gilsenan (Team Ireland), who placed 10th at 1:20.

At the end of today’s stage, Askey – who was
leading the points classification – proved too strong for Wout Joore (Team Hoppenbrouwers),
with those two fast men taking 1^st and 2^nd. They pulled
out a gap of two seconds on the rest of the bunch in what was an undulating
finale.

Mattie Dodd (Bäckstedt Bike Performance), who won yesterday’s stage, took 3^rd with Sean Strachan (Team Swift) 4^th. Two Irish riders - Adam Gilsenan (Team Ireland) and Travis Harkness (Cycling Ulster) - took 5^th and 6^th.

With seven laps of a circuit of just over 11km to race today, Scully forged ahead of the bunch on the third lap and remained out front solo for well over 30km, with August taking up the chasing on the front of the peloton.

When the lone Irishman was eventually brought back, Alex Franks (Lee Valley Youth CC) and Joe Wilson (Composite) took the initiative. While they managed to get clear of the main field, they too were brought back paving the way for a chariot race to the line, before Askey and Joore gave the bunch the slip.