Ben Healy has gotten his WorldTour career underway today in Spain with EF Education-EasyPost. The 21-year-old was part of the team selection for the one-day race, Vuelta Murcia (1.1).
The 183.2km event took the riders from Fortuna to Puerto de Cartagena, with several climbs to negotiate, including the 17.5km HC ascent of Alto Collado Bermejo averaging 5.4 per cent gradient. And just 20km from the finish, the field tackled the cat 3 Alto El Cedacero; some 5km at 5.6 per cent.
Healy was on team duties today and Georg Steinhauser (20) took the team's best result, with 14th place, on a day when the pace split the field to pieces. The fight for victory was between a 20-man front group, with UAE Team Emirates taking a 1-2.
Alessandro Covi (23), who denied Ireland's Mark Downey a stage win at the Tour de l'Avenir back in 2018, attacked from that front group with 5km to go to just about secure victory. His team mate Matteo Trentin was best of the rest in 2nd place. Ireland's Healy placed 110th and finished in a large group 15:30 down.
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Tour of Antalya, Turkey
Cormac Mcgeough was the best finisher of the three Irish riders at the end of the queen stage at Tour of Antalya (2.1) in Turkey today. Mcgeough (25), riding for US-based Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling, put in a solid ride on the concluding climb today - 8.8km, with an average gradient of 5.8 per cent - and placed 28th at 44 seconds.
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The stage victory went to 21-year-old Jacob Hindsgaul of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team after he was best in the sprint to the line from the front group. The Dane also took the race lead with just one stage remaining tomorrow.
Irish riders Matt Teggart and Rory Townsend of WiVSunGod placed 33rd and 138th today; Teggart 1:01 down on the winner and Townsend at 12:40. They should get another chance for a result tomorrow as the final stage - 156.5km starting and finishing in Antalya - looks suited to the sprinters.
Clancy at Tour of Oman
Stephen Clancy is the sole Irish rider in action at the Tour of Oman, where the road kicked upwards today on stage 4; some 180km from Sultan Qaboos University to Qurayyat.
The finish saw the riders tackle the Bousher Al Amerat climb - 3.6km averaging 8.9 per cent. Anthon Charmig (23) of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team timed his final effort to perfection to take the victory.
He also lifted the race lead from yesterday's winner Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team); making it a double victory today for
Uno-X Pro as Jacob Hindsgaul won the stage at Tour of Antalya and took the race lead.
Ireland's Clancy (Novo Nordisk), who was in a two-man breakaway yesterday in Oman for about 140km, finished today's stage in 89th and as part of a group 7:03 down.
