Irish Continental team EvoPro Racing has taken its first results of the year in Belgrade Banjaluka, a UCI 2.1-ranked race in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The team has been riding so far for Belgian Michael Van Staeyen, with the 32-year-old taking 5th on the opening stage yesterday, some 96km from Belgrade Sabac.
The stage was won by German rider Justin Wolf (Bike Aid) who claimed victory 10 seconds ahead of the bunch and, with it, the first yellow jersey of the race.
On today's stage 2, some 122km from Obrenovac to Bijeljina, the race ended in a bunch sprint, won by Polish rider Patryk Stosz (Voster ATS Team), with EvoPro's Van Staeyen placing 6th.
EvoPro Racing was present on the front trying to ensure it came down a bunch sprint, with Ireland's Michael O'Loughlin in the EvoPro selection this week and riding well so far.
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The only other Irish rider in the race is Limerick's Stephen Clancy of the US ProContinental team Novo Nordisk.
Both O'Loughlin and Clancy finished in the bunch on the opening stage, in 46th and 116th respectively. On today's stage O'Loughlin was again in the bunch with Clancy finishing in a group three minutes down on a day when about a third of the starters lost time.
Tomorrow's stage 3 will be over more challenging terrain, with three climbs in the final third of the race; two of them crested one after the other immediately and with an uphill finish.
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