One of Irish cycling’s rising stars, Maeve Gallagher, and
national elite champion Alice Sharpe made the breakaway on stage of Rás na
mBan.
However, while both made very significant gains on a day
of huge time gaps, it was Josie Knight who won again.
Knight, now riding for Great Britain having previously
competed for Ireland, had won the opening stage in a two-up sprint from Claire
Steels (Brother UK Fusion RT).
And when she got clear in a larger move yesterday she
once again proved strongest at the finish; claiming the sprint to the lie in
Piltown for her second victory in two days.
It was a stage when a number of larger crashes in the
bunch slowed the progress of the bunch and took a number of riders out of the
event.
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However, once the breakaway got clear yesterday the
leaders worked well together and gained so much time that anyone in its is not
set up for a very string general classification ride.
In the end the breakaway took 4:57 out of the peloton
having ridden away on the first of two passages of the climb on the 20k,
finishing circuit.
"It was a bit tough, that hill on the finishing circuit, it was pretty hard,” said winner and overall lead Josie Knight (Team GB) after the finish.
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!I didn’t go into it in the best position, so I really had to work hard to get into that front group over it the first time.
“And then I was so outnumbered by Brother UK Fusion RT and I thought, 'Just come on stay on their wheels, stay on their wheels'.
“To win it, I mean, it’s just unbelievable; I just wanted not to lose time, but to cross the line first was just unbelievable."
At the finish Knight bear Elynor Backstedt (Storey Racing)
into 2nd place with Irish champion Alice Sharpe (Team Ireland) in 3rd.
Teenager Gallagher (Team Ireland) was next; taking 4th
place after a brilliant display that suggests she is one of the strongest in
the race.
Natalie Grinczer (Brother UK Fusion RT) was 5th ahead of Knight’s Team GB team mate Anna Shackley.
Then came stage 1 runner-up Claire Steels; some three seconds back in seventh place.
More to come.
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