Ryan Mullen put in another very strong showing at WorldTour race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium.
Having only been drafted into the Cannondale-Drapac team for the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Belgian semi-classic today, Ryan Mullen has finished the race.
The 22-year-old was three Irishmen to take to the start line in Gent this morning for the near 200km event with plenty of cobbles along the way.
However, the Aqua Blue Sport pairing of breakaway specialist Conor Dunne and former national road champion were both list as non finishers.
Mullen came home in 92nd place in a group some 9:09 down on winner Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing).
The Belgian favourite and Olympic champion showed his strength in the final, pulling cleat with world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Mullen’s new team mate Sep Vanmarcke.
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And in a three-up sprint on the line Van Avermaet simply had too much for the others to live with.
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Sagan animated the racing before the key split as he forced the pace several times and helped bring back the early leaders while trimming the select group that formed as the course took its toll.
And when Vanmarcke attacked on the final climb of the day at Molenberg it was only Van Avermaet and Sagan who could follow.
While Mullen was over nine minutes down the road, he had only come into the event just before it to replace Taylor Phinney after he was ruled out due to a knee injury.
But on a day when almost 90 of the 200-rider field would abandon, Mullen’s survival to the end bodes well for his development and seems another indication that he can cope with the cobbles.
And after some very strong riding at the Volta ao Algarve recently – where he was 14th in the TT despite a mechanical forcing him to stop and went on the attack for almost 200km the following day – his ride today should further bolster his confidence and condition.
He takes on Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne tomorrow, another inconic early season Belgian race with pave and 201km to contend with.
Another finish for Mullen would represent a very good day in the office for the emerging Irish talent.
Sat, Feb 25: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (198km)
1 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) 4:48:04
2 Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)
3 Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac)
4 Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) 0:00:44
5 Oscar Gatto (Astana) 0:00:50
6 Luke Rowe (Team Sky)
7 Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale)
8 Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)
9 Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step) 0:00:54
10 Adrien Petit (Direct Energie) 0:00:57
11 Frederik Backaert (Wanty-Groupe Gobert)
12 Mike Teunissen (Sunweb)
13 Philippe Gilbert (QuickStep)
14 Zdenek Stybar (QuickStep)
15 Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Soudal)
92 Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac) 00:09:09
DNF Matt Brammeier (Aqua Blue Sport)
DNF Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport)
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