Ryan Mullen, above, was active on today's stage 2 of the Étoile de Bessèges professional race in France, making a number of key groups before the field came together again.
The 155km stage from Nimes to Les Fumades was won by Belgian Roy Jans (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) in a bunch sprint.
The peloton stopped at one point in protest at having to race around a large lap before the finishing circuits because it was so cold; the breeze combining with the low temperatures to make for very tough conditions.
However, the race organisers insisted they must continue and that any rider who failed to complete the full course would be ejected from the race.
Mullen and his two An Post-Chainreaction team mates Conor Dunne and Eoin McCarthy finished in the bunch of 109 riders on the same time as the winner.
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Yesterday, Wednesday, the weather was bitter cold on the opening stage, with the riders hit by crosswinds and snow.
Eoin McCarthy got caught behind a crash when the racing was on and the breeze blowing hard on stage 1. However, he finished in the bunch on today's stage 2.
The field split, with Kris Boeckmans (Lotto Soudal) taking victory in a sprint from a lead group of 13 riders just 17 seconds ahead of another 40 men.
Mullen was best of the Irish trio, in the third group on the road. He was 2:02 down on the winner.
He was 58th in what was a strong ride considering the field was scattered over 14 minutes.
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Dunne was in a large group 7:58 down, with McCarthy coming home in the biggest group on the road, just over 14 minutes back.
The Corkman lost time after he was caught behind a crash when the strong winds made closing gaps impossible.
The race continues tomorrow and Saturday with stages of 150km and 152km.
Feb 4th-7th: Étoile de Bessèges (UCI 2.1)
Feb 5th: Stage 2, Nimes - Les Fumades 155km
1 Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert 4:27:54
2 Alexandre Blain (Fra) Team Marseille 13 KTM
3 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
4 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
5 Yannick Martinez (Fra) Team Europcar
6 Olivier Chevalier (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles
7 Antoine Demoitie (Bel) Wallonie - Bruxelles
8 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole
9 Edward Theuns (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
10 Fabio Silvestre (Por) Trek Factory Racing
55 Eoin McCarthy (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction
85 Ryan Mullen (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction
97 Conor Dunne (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction
General Classification
1 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal 7:53:21
2 Edward Theuns (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise 0:00:04
3 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:06
4 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:10
5 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Julien Duval (Fra) Armée de Terre
7 Dennis Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
8 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal
9 Loïc Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
10 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Team Marseille 13 KTM
74 Ryan Mullen (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction @2:14
113 Conor Dunne (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction @8:08
131 Eoin McCarthy (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction@14:25
Feb 4th, Stage 1: Bellegarde - Beaucaire 152km
1 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3:25:37
2 Edward Theuns (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
3 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
4 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
5 Julien Duval (Fra) Armée de Terre
6 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Team Marseille 13 KTM
7 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr
8 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Loïc Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
10 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Team Roompot
58 Ryan Mullen (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction @2:04
104 Conor Dunne (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction @7:58
129 Eoin McCarthy (Irl) An Post - Chainreaction @14:15
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