Irish elite men's TT champion Conn McDunphy was riding into the yellow jersey at Tour du Loiret in France yesterday when he punctured and lost his place in the front group.
McDunphy (CC Nogent Sur Oise) was 11th on the opening stage of the race on Friday after making the winning breakaway that gained 1:11 on the peloton. That placing and time gain meant he was in a very strong position starting stage 2 yesterday morning in the national elite French stage race.
The 175.3km stage 2 brought the riders from Chatillon-Coligny to Chatillon-sur-Loire and with about 20km to go McDunphy attacked what remained of the bunch and got clear.
He initially bridged up to his team mate Romain Bacon, who sacrificed his own chances to help establish a gap. McDunphy then got across to the two leaders on the road, Léo Vincent (CC Etupes) and Bastien Tronchon (AG2R Citroën U23 Team).
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As both of those riders had lost time
to the Irishman on Friday’s opening stage, McDunphy was much better placed than
them overall and would have taken the race lead by over 40 seconds had he
finished with them.
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However, with about 7km to go he
suffered a front wheel puncture and though he tried to ride it flat for a time
he was forced to stop and change it.
That left his two breakaway companions
to race on to the finish where they took 1st and 2nd on the stage some 51 seconds
ahead of the bunch. McDunphy managed to get back into the peloton before the
finish following his mechanical.
However, though he should be leading
the race now by a very useful margin, he is still 5th overall just 15 seconds off
yellow. The race lead is held by stage 1 winner Johan Le Bon (Dinan Sport
Cycling).
The French rider was in the breakaway with McDunphy on the opening stage and managed to attack it and win by five seconds, while also taking a time bonus for his victory. The riders have a TT stage today of 13.7km in La Selle-sur-le-Bied.
McDunphy, who will get to race in his Irish champion's kit for the first time tomorrow since winning the national TT title in Limerick last October, still has a very good chance of making the final podium and even winning the race outright after tomorrow's final stage.
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