Bagdonas just about edges out Bennett for the win in Skerries (Photo: Seamus Shortall)
The An Post-Sean Kelly team has rounded of this year’s Rás on a high note in Skerries, north Co Dublin, by taking a 1-2 on the final stage with Gediminas Bagdonas and Sam Bennett.
That stage win today, Sunday, for 2011 overall winner Bagdonas was enough to secure him the points jersey and was his second stage win of the week. Today’s second place for Bennett followed his third place into Cootehill yesterday.
While disappointed not to get a stage win this week, he has scored some valuable UCI points towards qualifying more Irish riders for the U23 World Championships. And on a personal note he has also amassed some valuable points towards Olympic qualification under Cycling Ireland’s criteria for London.
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Eugene Moriarty of the Meath East-Spin 11 team put in a great gallop today to take 7th on the stage and with it the county prize for today. Peter Hawkins (IG Sigma Sport) was again in the mix at the finish, in 9th. And just behind him was Daniel Clifford of the Dunboyne-DID Electrical team in 10th.
That was a very good final say showing by Moriarty and Clifford, both very strong men who have clearly come out of this race in good shape.
Today’s stage followed something of familiar pattern, with break-neck attacking from the gun resulting in a group finally pulling clear.
It was Ireland’s Sean Downey (An Post-Sean Kelly) who was most active at the start, attacking a number of times before he eventually got clear with Christopher Stephenson (UK Youth Cycling) inside the first 20 minutes of action. They were quickly joined by reinforcements in the shape of Lars Vierbergen (Netherlands Koga) and Christopher Jennings (Rapha Condor Sharp).
These four combined well to pull out a gap before three more riders got out of the bunch in pursuit. They were: Sondre Hurum (Norway Oneco Mesterhus), Taylor Gunman (New Zealand) and Robin Kelly (Carlow Dan Morrissey Speedy Spokes).
At 30kms covered, the two groups had merged, making it seven men up front, and immediately began pulling further away from the peloton.
However, try as they might the leaders never got a gap bigger than 1:45, with the Atlas Jakroo team of yellow jersey Nicolas Baldo, the Czech AC Sparta Praha riders and French AVC Aix En Provence team all joining forces on the front riding tempo to ensure the gap never got too big.
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The breakaway made it into Skerries for the two 13.8km finishing circuits still out front, but they were soon swallowed up as Baldo’s team took over the pace making and drove it hard to deter any attacks.
Coming into the final couple of kilometres the An Post-Sean Kelly and NODE4-Girodana teams could be seen at the front trying to get their sprinters into position.
Both Downey and Ronan McLaughlin put in some big pulls for An Post-Sean Kelly that saw them dropped in the closing 1km.
In the dash to the line Bagdonas and Bennett sprinted side by side, with the Lithuanian taking the win ahead of the young Irishman.
It was an important win for the team because going into this morning’s final stage Bagdonas was level in the points competition with Marcin Bialoblocki of the NODE4-Girodana team. With the Polish rider third today, the An Posts really needed to be on top of their game to secure the win in that classification for Bagdonas.
In the end Nicolas Baldo, a Frenchman riding for a Swiss team, ran out a pretty comfortable winner overall; his team looking very strong all week. But it would have to be said they were aided by the French and Czech teams, who filled the other two positions overall on GC.
Richard Handley (Rapha Condor-Sharp) ran out the winner of the U23 classification and was active in finale today, having a good dig up the Blackhills near Skerries. Dave Clarke (NODE4-Giordana) took the climbers’ classification while Adam Armstrong (Eurocycles) was best county rider on GC.
We’ll have more for you later, including rider reaction interviews after today’s final action of the 2012 An Post Ras.
Stage 8: Cootehill-Skerries 139km
1 Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post-Sean Kelly) 3:15:56
2 Sam Bennett (An Post Sean Kelly)
3 Marcin Bialoblocki (Node4 Giordana)
4 Roy Eefting (Koga Cycling)
5 Remi Sarreboubee (AVC Aix En Provence)
6 Rolf Nyborg Broge (Blue Water Cycling)
7 Eugene Moriarty (Meath East Spin 11)
8 Pirmin Lang (Atlas Jakroo)
9 Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport)
10 Daniel Clifford (Dunboyne DID Electrical) all same time
Final GC
1 Nicolas Baldo (Atlas Jakroo) 26:55:57
2 Thomas Rostollan (AVC Aix En Provence) @ 13 secs
3 Martin Hunal (AC Sparta Praha) @ 17 secs
4 Pirmin Lang (Atlas Jakroo) @ 18 secs
5 Richard Handley (Rapha Condor Sharp)
6 Marcin Bialoblocki (Node4 Giordana) @ 21 secs
7 Connor McConvey (An Post-Sean Kelly) @ 24 secs
8 Jonathan Fumeaux (Atlas Jakroo) @ 29 secs
9 Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post-Sean Kelly) @ 33 secs
10 Remi Sarreboubee (AVC Aix En Provence) @ 37 secs
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