Hugh Óg Mulhearne of Team Ireland leads the breakaway during stage 2 at the Quanta Capital Junior Tour of Ireland (Photo: Stephen McMahon-Sportsfile)
The finish of stage 2 at the Quanta Capital Junior Tour of Ireland saw Lucas Lillistone (Halesowen Academy-Mapei) put in the kind of late attack that Filippo Ganna would have been proud of to grab a fine victory.
Just behind him, stage 1 winner and yellow jersey Glen Gregory Koiv (Team Rauland) won the sprint for 2nd place. Rian McCrystal (Team Ireland) was, again, the best of the home challengers, but cursing his rotten luck just before the line on a day when his team mate, Hugh Óg Mulhearne lit it up with a 60km attack.
Mulhearne and two other riders he was with were caught on the final climb of Kilkee Cliffs, with Lillistone – the son of double Olympic Simon Lillistone - attacking just after the top, getting a gap and powering his way to a brilliant win.
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Behind him, McCrystal looked like he might win the sprint for 2nd place, before he punctured with about 200m to go, slipping back to 8th.
Lucas Lillistone of Halesowen Academy-Mapei winning stage 2 of the Quanta Capital Junior Tour of Ireland into Kilkee (Photo: Stephen McMahon-Sportsfile)
Race leader Koiv won the sprint for 2nd place, from Casey Warren (Team California), George Cooper (Team Pau) and Alex Botha (Hot Tubes).
Koiv defended his race lead, with stage winner Lillistone, now just four seconds down, and Fraser in 3rd at 10 seconds.
Lillistone leads the first-year rider classification while Koiv leads the points classification and Steed the climbers classification.
How it unfolded
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On the 96.5km stage from Ennis to Kilkee, there was plenty of early aggression, with Curtis McKee (Cycling Ulster) and Tom Hughes (Kilcullen CC-Murphys Geospatial) getting up the road in the opening 5km.
They were soon joined by Will Siminski (Leinster-Shay Murphy Development).
As they began to pull out a gap, of about 20 seconds, with approximately 10-12km completed, the US Hot Tubes team put a rider on the front. However, the opening KOH prime, of Cooga, crested with 15km completed, brought the breakaway back.
Jacob Steed (Halesowen Academy-Mapei) took the maximum five points from Mulhearne and Rocco Schumacher (360 Cycling JRT).
However, the real action - the first move to really stick - formed with about 35-40km to go. Mulhearne was in there with American-Irish rider Cormac Nagle (Hot Tubes) and Matthew Crabbe (Hot Tubes); the latter dropping back early in the move.
Tom Hughes of Kilcullen-Murphy Geospatial was among the Irish riders on the offensive during stage 2 at the Junior Tour of Ireland (Photo: Stephen McMahon)
That did not deter Mulhearne and Nagle, who pressed on alone, soon pulling out a gap of almost one minute, and remaining out front for about 60km in total.
A five-man chasing group soon got moving in pursuit of the leaders and in that group was Oliver O'Shaughnessy (Cycling Leinster), Fionn Killeen (Team Ireland), Taavi Snapp (Boulder Junior Cycling) and Schumacher.
With about 30km to go, the two leaders had only 30 seconds on the peloton, which had caught the chasing group. However, just before the leaders hit the 80km completed marker, Brodie Duncan (West Lothian Clarion) got across to the them, spurring them on.
But by the top of the third and final KOH of the day, Kilkee Cliffs, with the finish just 3km away, the three leaders were caught, with Sylvan Garrelts (Hot Tubes) taking the maximum nine points over the top.
However, any thoughts the stage would come down to a sprint from a reduced group were put to bed when Lillistone took flight and had the legs to get a gap and hold on by two seconds.
