Ryan Mullen was a very solid bet for a medal for Ireland going into the TT at the European Games TT in Minsk today but just missed out on the bronze (Photo: OCI-Sportsfile)
Ryan Mullen has missed out on a European Games TT medal in Minsk but the smallest of margins; one second to be precise.
However, while the Trek-Segafredo
WorldTour rider was left disappointed at coming away empty handed, his young
compatriot Michael O’Loughlin can be very satisfied with his performance.
The Irish U23 TT champion, O’Loughlin
took 6th place today from a pro field in Belarus.
That was his best international ride
against the clock since scoring a top 10 in the World Championships as a
junior.
While Mullen was fancied for a medal, perhaps even the gold, silverware doesn’t come easy at this level.
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Over the 28.6km course in Minsk, Vasil Kiryienka
was best in a time of 33:03; the Belarusian rider retaining the European Games
title he took four years ago.
The former world champion, who rides for
Team Ineos, was 28 seconds clear of Nelson Oliveira, the Portuguese Movistar rider, taking silver.
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And in the bronze medal
position was Jan Barta; riding these days for Continental team (Elkov-Author
Cycling) but competing today for the Czech Republic.
Barta was 37 seconds
off the gold and Ryan Mullen was just one second slower, being forced to settle
for 4th place.
Just behind him came
Lithuania Gediminas Bagdonas, the former Rás Tailteann winner and long-time
AG2R-La Mondiale rider.
Bagdonas was 5th and
1:13 with Michael O’Loughlin next; in 6th place and 1:29 off the 33:03 recorded
by Kiryienka.
Mullen has been good value for Ireland
at major championships in the past against the clock; taking silver in the
junior Europeans in 2012 and silver in the U23 TT at the Worlds in 2014.
Since then he has been 5th in the elite
men’s Worlds TT, in 2016, and was 3rd in the elite Europeans two years ago
before taking 6th last year.
However, while coming to within one
second of another medal this time out, he will hopefully enjoy other big days
in the green of Ireland in the years ahead.
And both he and O’Loughlin can take
confidence in the National Road Championships in coming days; the TT to be
contested on Thursday and the men’s road race next Sunday.
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