David Gaffney (Team 31 Specialized) has taken the best result of his season today, and set himself up in the general classification, after an aggressive ride while in Spanish junior stage race action.
The 18-year-old Irish rider, who came up the ranks through the Dungarvan CC, went on the attack on the opening stage of Gipuzkoa Klasikoa (2.1), a 98.5km race starting and finishing in Lazkao in the Basque Country.
Though he spent a portion of the stage up the road in a two-man group, he proved one of strongest riders on the final climb before the descent into the finish; coming close to victory and gain time on everyone in the field bar one.
The field split significantly on the final climb, and many of those time gaps remained on the descent to the line, where Johan Blanc of Groupama-FDJ U19 Team, guesting for Stade Toulousain Cyclisme Académie.
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He was just four seconds up on Gaffney, the runner-up today, with Matthew Peace (Tofauti Everyone Active Majoco) 3rd at 22 seconds, with a gap of over one minute back to 10th; a big gap in a two-day stage race.
Gaffney overcame a slipped chain on the first climb of the stage, after about 30km, but chased his way back to the bunch. On the second ascent, he made his move, with an attack early on the climb and getting clear with one other rider.
They opened a gap on the climb - some 4.3km with an average gradient of 6.7 per cent - and led over the top and onto the descent. However, while they were still clear after they came off that climb and persisted with their breakaway, they were caught by a chasing group about 10km later.
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The main action of the day unfolded on the final climb, a 2.3km ascent averaging 6.6 per cent and crested just 4km from the finish. Gaffney climbed at the front on that climbed and pushed hard on the descent, though Blanc managed to nudge ahead of him and held his modest advantage all the way to the line.
Most of the gaps that opened on that final climb were maintained on the short downhill run to the finish, with Gaffney now 2nd overall, of 170 starters, going into tomorrow's final stage.
That race is some 104km, starting and finishing in Egia, Donostia, with small climbs through the stage, including two in the final 13km before a descent and a draggy 3km to the finish.
Johan Blanc ?? (Stade Toulousain Cyclisme Académie) gana la primera etapa.
David Gaffney ?? (Team 31 Specialized) y Matthew Peace ?? (Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco), segundo y tercero respectivamente. pic.twitter.com/sLXw8u68FE
— Avituallamiento Ciclista (@EVTMO_) May 31, 2025
