Liam O'Brien (Lidl Trek Future Racing) has been one of the main animators in the high mountains on the queen stage at Giro Valle d'Aosta-Mont Blanc (2.2U). Irish U23 road race champion Jamie Meehan (AVC Aix Provence Dole) was also to the fore.
In one of the most prestigious races on the U23 international calendar, O'Brien and Meehan have emerged over the last two stages among a select group of riders who are by far the best climbers in the race.
And after also making the select group yesterday, both have again moved up the general classification, with Meehan now up to 4th and just 30 seconds off the podium. O'Brien was 3rd today, after 160km of racing, with 4,485m of elevation gain.
That performance by the duo is very significant as - given how hard this race is, how big the climbs are - it is one of a small number of U23 stage races World Tour teams study closely as they research towards making their next signings.
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And though O'Brien is in the extended team network of the Lidl-Trek World Tour team, and is well on his way to a pro contract, Meehan is riding at UCI Continental level this year and looking to make the step up. The Donegal man is now looking very good to make that transition having emerged as a top tier climber in international U23 racing.
Today, both Irish riders were among a select group of 11 who rode away from the rest of the field on the final climb of Valsavarenche-Pont; a 25.8km brute averaging five per cent that was tackled in the rain today.
With 4km to go, it was O'Brien who stepped up and pushed the pace, splitting the group in two, with five going clear and being chased all the way by the others.
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And despite a number of attacks up front, that was effectively the way it stayed until they raced into the final kilometre. At the front, race leader Jarno Widar (Lotto Development) put in a searing attack that ended the contest just inside 1km to go.
He split the lead group to pieces, sprinting the last few hundred metres to win by nine seconds from Giro Next Gen overall winner, Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain Victorious Development Team). Cork's O'Brien - riding for Fermoy CC just two years ago - took an excellent 3rd place at 15 seconds.
As the front group exploded in the final kilometre up to the finish line, so too did Meehan's group, which was about 20-30 seconds behind the leaders for most of the last 5km.
Meehan finished in 9th at 59 seconds, holding his shape very well even after starting to feel the pinch with about 4km to go. He now moves up two places overall to 4th while O'Brien has climbed six places to 8th.
Widar continues to lead overall with one stage remaining and has now extended his advantage to a whopping 3:01 over Jean-Loup Fayolle (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels Continentale). Mateo Pablo Ramírez (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z) is 3rd at 3:02. Then comes Meehan, in 4th overall at 3:32, with O'Brien 8th at 4:35.
The race concludes tomorrow with another huge summit finish, to Breuil Cervinia, and where the two Irish riders can hopefully make further gains and move onto the final podium.
