A group of Irish riders was in action at the weekend in Greece, including the first line-up selected from Ireland's new U23 outfit, Velo Performance Development Team.
The squad, which is comprised exclusively of Irish riders bar one, is owned and sponsored by the Velo Performance cycling holiday and performance company in Portugal.
Willem O'Connor, Eoghan Lattimore, Conor Prendergast and Christopher Marshall - all first-year U23s - were in action for Velo Performance at the weekend in a race that represented a big step up for them.
The older and more experienced Conn McDunphy also pinned on numbers; the former Irish elite U23 champion in action for UCI Continental squad Team Skyline again this year.
They were all taking on the two-day Visit South Aegean Islands (2.2) comprised of two lumpy road races, on Saturday and Sunday, of 160km and 180km respectively, both with uphill kicks to finish.
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However, while the finishes ensured there were time gaps through what remained of the peloton each day, the earlier climbs also proved something of a sorting out as the stages both included 2,000m of elevation gain.
McDunphy was the best finisher overall of the Irish, taking 15th place, just 13 seconds down on the Danish overall winner, 21-year-old Alexander Arnt Hansen (Airtox-Carl Ras).
The two stages were tightly controlled by some of the stronger teams, and though breakaways got clear, they were reeled in, paving the way to two sprint finishes from what remain of the bunch each day.
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McDunphy was 16th on the opening stage, just three seconds down on winner Mattia Negrente (XDS Astana Development Team). O'Connor was 81st at 3:04, Prendergast 105th at 6:42 and Lattimore 116th at 7:01. Marshall was, unfortunately, a non-finisher.
On yesterday's second stage, the Velo Performance riders tried to get into the mix early in the stage but the moves they joined did not result in breakaways; some 50km covered in the first hour of racing.
McDunphy placed 19th on the uphill finish into Salakos, one of only 29 riders to finish on the same time as stage winner, Norway's 21-year-old Ulrik Tvedt (Lillehammer CK Continental Team).
O'Connor and Prendergast finished together, in 81st and 82nd, at 1:11. That was quite a solid showing by the two Irish teenagers considering the step up in race distance, and level, for them and the final climb of 4km to the line. Lattimore was a little further back, in 128th.
The Irish riders will continue their efforts in Greece on Saturday at the one-day Rhodes GP Powered by Mitsis Hotels (1.2), before riding International Tour of Rhodes (2.2), a four-stage race starting on March 13th.
It was a good weekend for Scandinavian riders also in Greece with the Norwegian Ulrik Tvedt winning the 2nd stage and the Dane @ArntAlexander the overall title of Visit South Aegean Islands. ????? pic.twitter.com/tU8YrfqjK4
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 2, 2025
