David McCann has bowed out of international competition at the Tour of Taihu with 5th overall
David McCann (RTS Racing) has brought the curtain down on his international professional career at the Tour of Taihu Lake in China with fifth on the final general classification.
The 39-year-old Belfast man has insisted that this was his last season riding as a pro, though he has not ruled out racing at home at a lower level and possibly even riding the Rás again.
All of the stages in the UCI 2.1 eight-day Tour of Taihu Lake ended in a bunch sprint bar two. McCann benefited when the race split, but ultimately was frustrated in his efforts to move higher as the event became something of a feast for sprinters.
On the opening 140km stage last Thursday, he was very aggressive and managed to split the field. However, he said he did too much work in the breakaway and at the end had nothing left for the finish.
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He finished sixth on the stage, just three seconds behind winner and Czech national champion Milan Kadlec (Dukla Praha).
The second and third stages were bunch sprints but on the fourth stage the race split in crosswinds on a hilly circuit. The Irishman came home in a lead group of 35 and moved up to 4th overall, just 16 seconds behind leader Kadlec.
However, there were to be no such splits for the remainder of the race with all of the stages in the concluding half of the eight-day coming down to bunch sprints.
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McCann lost out a little as others around him benefitted from time bonuses and he dropped from 4th at the halfway point to equal fifth overall when the race finished today, Friday, after the final 136km stage. He ended the race just 17 seconds down on eventual winner Kadlec.
Stage 8: Changshu Kunchenghu Lake 136km
1 Alois Kankovsky (Cze) ASC Dukla Praha 2:59:57
2 Alexander Serebryakov (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
3 Harrif Saleh (Mas) Terengganu Cycling Team
4 Leonid Krasnov (Rus) RusVelo
5 Benjamin Giraud (Fra) La Pomme Marseille
6 Jullien Sebastien (Fra) JLC
7 Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr) Konya Torku Seker Spor
8 Michael Schweizer (Ger) Nutrixxion Abus
9 Joeri Stallaert (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony
10 Anuar Manan (Mas) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
62 David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team (same time)
Final General Classification
1 Milan Kadlec (Cze) ASC Dukla Praha) 22:10:26
2 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Drapac Cycling @10
3 Ki Ho Choi (HKg) Hong Kong @15
4 King Lok Cheung (HKg) Hong Kong @17
5 David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team
6 Thomas Vaubourzeix (Fra) La Pomme Marseille @21
7 Alexander Serebryakov (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi @24
8 Yannick Martinez (Fra) La Pomme Marseille @44
9 Samuel José Rodrigues Caldeira (Por) Carmim - Prio @48
10 Leonid Krasnov (Rus) RusVelo @50
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