The Irish riders are facing into a very tough finish on stage 5 of the Tour of Britain. Above, Colombian Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Etixx-Quick Step) takes stage 3 victory into Blyth from André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN – Qhubeka); the bunch finish meaning no major changes overall.
Ryan Mullen has put in another solid ride at the Tour of Britain, finishing in the bunch again after more than five hours in the saddle into Blyth.
Now riding as a stagiaire for WorldTour team Cannondale-Garmin, the 21-year-old came home in the 70-strong group today; the third time he has done so in the four stages so far.
While not sensational results compared to some of those on his palmares, especially against the clock, Mullen suffered in this race 12 months ago and only managed a bunch finish on the first and final stages.
Advertisement
His riding to date suggests real progress which bodes well for the U23 race against the clock at the World Road Championships in the US later this month.
But before that outing he faces his first big test as a WorldTour rider on Thursday’s stage 5 in Britain, where some of the other Irish riders in the race may fancy their chances.
The race takes the riders 166km from Prudhoe to Hartside. Going across the Pennines, it features a cat 1 climb at Hayden Bridge, crested at the 28.9km point.
The riders then face two cat 3 climbs – Croglin after 85km and Brockleymoor after 103km – before heading for the big finale.
The final climb is 8km to the summit finish on Hartside Fell above Penrith. Such hilly terrain will not suit Mullen but he is clearly a much stronger road rider since last year.
The Team Sky riders did their share of work in closing down the early breakaway. But having won stage 1 and stage 3, their Italian sprinter Elia Viviani had to settle for 7th place.
The stage will be his first real barometer since becoming a Cannondale-Garmin rider five weeks ago and will indicate his standing against the kind of opposition he will now race against every time he pulls on a jersey for the next couple of seasons.
Two men the climbs should suit, if their form is holding up, are Conor Dunne of An Post-Chainreaction and Eddie Dunbar of NFTO Pro Cycling.
Both are excellent climbers on their day and will look to get up the road, just as Dunne did on stage 1, to progress their chances of moving on from Continental level to bigger teams.
Related News
Jack Wilson (An Post-Chainreaction) has lost time this week; his preparation not helped by injury and crashes in the early part of the season.
Friday’s stage 6 from Stoke-on-Trent to Nottingham is 193km and is flatter that tomorrow’s outing, albeit with three cat 2 climbs to ascend.
The riders then travel the 227km stage 7 from Fakenham to Ipswich on Saturday with just some cat 3 climbs to deal with.
However, the last of the three categorised ramps is only 18km from the finish and may act as a springboard for the strongmen looking for stage glory or to move up overall, especially on such a long day.
The race then concludes with an 86.8km skirmish around the streets of London.
Today’s stage was won by Colombian Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Etixx-Quick Step) from André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN – Qhubeka); the bunch finish meaning no major changes overall.
Stage 4: Edinburgh - Blyth (217.4km)
1 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Etixx - Quick Step 5:13:08
2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto - Soudal
3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka
4 Owain Doull (GBr) Team WIGGINS
5 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto - Soudal
6 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
7 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
8 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN - Qhubeka
9 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
10 Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor
61 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale - Garmin
76 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) NFTO 0:00:46
85 Conor Dunne (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction 0:01:27
93 Jack Wilson (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction 0:02:49
General Classification
1 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Movistar Team 18:50:12
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka 0:00:06
3 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team 0:00:12
4 Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky 0:00:13
5 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Cannondale - Garmin
6 Owain Doull (GBr) Team WIGGINS 0:00:14
7 Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor
8 Rasmus Guldhammer Pedersen (Den) Cult Energy Pro Cycling
9 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx - Quick Step
10 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka 0:00:20
67 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin 0:22:19
79 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) NFTO 0:24:36
101 Conor Dunne (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction 0:30:59
110 Jack Wilson (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction 0:37:01
Topics
