Marcus Christie off to flying start in first pro stage race; makes winning move in France

Marcus Christie (yellow glasses) wasn't afraid to get up the road early today and had the legs to make it all the way; seen here in the Grand Prix d’Ouverture La Marseillaise on Sunday

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After being listed as a non-finisher in his first pro race for the An Post-Chainreaction team on Sunday, Marcus Christie’s second outing for the squad has proven to be a lot more successful.

The former Foyle CC rider made the winning six-man breakaway in the Etoile de Bessèges (UCI 2.1) five-day race in France on the opening 154km stage from Bellegarde to Beaucaire.

The escape went clear from the 10km mark, with Christie showing great courage not to fear being aggressive so early into what was effectively just his second race against top pro opposition.

He was the last to join up with the group, which knuckled down to their task and built a lead of 8:45 over the peloton at its maximum.

Christie punctured at one point and while he got a spare wheel and regained the escape, the move visibly slowed at that point. And with teams like La Pomme Marseille and FDJ.fr taking up the chase some 100km from the finish, it looked like the breakaway was doomed.

With rain falling and the field tackling two categorised climbs, the gap did indeed fall between the bunch and breakaway. But as the escape entered the 12km closing circuit for two laps, they still had a gap just north of two minutes.

That was to prove enough, with Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise rider Sander Helven winning the stage in a sprint from the escape from compatriot Laurens De Vreese (Wanty-Groupe Gobert). French rider Benoît Jarrier (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) was third.

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Christie, who is most noted for his time trialling was 6^th across the line, with German power house John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) winning the sprint for 7th some 18 seconds later.

When time bonuses are taken into consideration, Christie is now 6th overall, at 16 seconds. He is 18 seconds ahead of all of those riders who finished in the bunch today.

The three other Irish An Post-Chainreaction riders in the race - Jack Wilson, Ryan Mullen and Conor Dunne - all finished in the peloton on the same time as Degenkolb. Wilson put in a good showing, coming home in 23rd place.

The race concludes with a time trial on Sunday, meaning if Christie can hold his own for the remainder of the week he will have a fantastic chance to secure a big overall result in his maiden pro stage race.

February 5^th to 9^th: Etoile de Bessèges (UCI 2.1)

February 5, Stage 1: Bellegarde - Beaucaire 154km