Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) got the better of Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) in the bunch sprint to claim the first leader’s jersey of the Tour de Yorkshire today.
By Brian Canty
Nicolas Roche and Conor Dunne both finished in the front group on day one of the Tour de Yorkshire today as Carrick-on-Suir teenager Michael O’Loughlin took his place in the international pro peloton for the first time.
The 19-year-old is one of the youngest men in the race and is in some huge company this weekend as he tackles one of the biggest stage races on the UK calendar.
And though he would lose time today when the afterburners were turned on in the final kilometres, it was a fantastic day for O'Loughlin.
He will now look to settle into the big company he is now keeping and, in time, to begin performing against them in the way he has at home and abroad for club and country in recent years.
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The 2.1-ranked event has attracted many of the world’s biggest teams and names – with O’Loughlin’s Team WIGGINS among them.
However, it was a bad start for them as they lost their talismanic leader Bradley Wiggins to a crash early on.
And though he rode on, he pulled out with 30 kilometres to go and was listed as a non-finisher. The team also lost Scott Davies in the same crash.
Roche poses with some very happy fans at the start of the race; a man who knows how to turn on the charm!
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The stage was won by Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) who got the better of Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) in the bunch sprint to claim the first leader’s jersey of the race.
Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) finished third, while Roche and Dunne were 19th and 70th, respectively.
The 185-kilometre stage from Beverley to Settle featured lots of rolling terrain and cold, wet conditions greeted the riders for the rollout.
After a period of attacking early on, six riders went clear; Graham Briggs (JLT Condor), Matt Cronshaw (Madison Genesis), Sebastian Mora (Raleigh GAC), Nils Politt (Katusha), Jens Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
and Peter Williams (One Pro Cycling).
They worked hard to extend their advantage to over four minutes but were kept in check by the strong pace-setting of Team Sky and Dimension Data.
With 72km of the 184km distance to go, Williams, Politt and Wallays were all that was left, and they were all caught with 35km remaining.
And though Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) may the best effort in the attacking that characterised the last 10km, he was caught and the stage was settled in a bunch sprint from a reduced peloton.
Tomorrow’s stage takes the riders 135 kilometres from Otley to Doncaster, which should once again end in a bunch sprint.
April 29-May 1: Tour de Yorkshire
Stage 1: Beverley to Settle, 184km
1. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo in 5-09-11
2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge @s/t
3. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Giant-Alpecin @s/t
4. Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie @s/t
5. Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky @s/t
6. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team @s/t
7. Christopher Lawless (GBr) JLT Condor @s/t
8. Karol Domagalski (Pol) One Pro Cycling @s/t
9. Dion Smith (NZl) One Pro Cycling @s/t
10. Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise @s/t
19. Nicolas Roche (IRL) Team Sky @s/t
70. Conor Dunne (IRL) JLT-Condor Cycles @s/t
118. Michael O’Loughlin (IRL) Team WIGGINS @10:44
General Classification
1. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 4 secs
3. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Giant-Alpecin at 6 secs
19. Nicolas Roche (IRL) Team Sky @s/t
70. Conor Dunne (IRL) JLT-Condor Cycles @s/t
118. Michael O’Loughlin (IRL) Team WIGGINS @10:54
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