Ryan Mullen takes fantastic TT result at Tirreno-Adriatico
Ryan Mullen has once again underlined his standing among the best TT riders in the world. His ride at the end of a long stage race is also proof he is continuing to improve.
Ryan Mullen has scored a very strong result on the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatic.
He was 9th in the 10.05km test in the 2.UWT event, won by Australian champion Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing.
The stage victor jumped one place into the runner-up slot overall behind Nairo Quintana (Movistar) who won the race outright.
Mullen has been riding very well so far this season and in the Volta Ao Algarve in Portugal last month he was 14th in the 18km time trial.
He had to stop just after the start because his chain came off. He was 35 seconds down on winner Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar).
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Rohan Dennis on his way to a great stage win and into the runner-up slot in the final general classification.
His mishap definitely cost him a place in the top 10 and arguably on the podium.
And the following day he vented that frustration by going on a near 200km breakaway that was only caught in the final 2km.
He said before Tirreno-Adriatico he felt if today’s test went well he would be close to the top of the field.
And his 9th place underlines his standing as a quality TT rider who is continuing to improve. All of those who beat him today, see below, are world class riders.
Mullen did not feature in the other stages in Italy over the past week and ran out 126th overall.
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Nairo Quintana takes the spoils and looks in great shape for his tilt at the Giro d'Italia.
However, the race against the clock was always going to be Mullen's goal in Italy.
And the fact he was able to perform as he did at the end of a hard stage race is not something all specialist testers can do.
Ryan Mullen and Paris-Roubaix
With Tirreno now under his belt he should get a call from his Cannondale-Drapac team for some of the spring classics.
He completed Paris-Roubaix last year as a 21-year-old, the youngest rider in the race. Following his day across the pave he said he really enjoyed the experience.
It would be very interesting to see what he could do this year given the progress he has made.
Today, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) had been 2nd going into the last stage, some 50 seconds behind Quintana and 16 seconds up on Dennis.
On the final stage Dennis won the San Benedetto del Tronto test from Jos Van Emden (LottoNL-Jumbo) by three seconds. Michael Hepburn (Orica-Scott) was next on the same time.
Pinot was 17th at 27 seconds and Quintana was 45th at 41 seconds.
It meant Nairo Quintana ran out the overall winner by 25 seconds from Dennis, with Pinot rounding out the podium 36 seconds down.
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