Ryan Mullen has a great chance of taking his third win of the season tomorrow. The Binck Bank Tour second stage is a short flat TT which looks very much suited to the Irishman. Above, QuickStep's 21-year-old Dutch sprinter wins the opening stage in Holland today.
National TT champion Ryan Mullen has kept his powder dry on the opening stage of the Binck Bank Tour (2.UWT) in Holland.
The Trek-Segafredo man finished 70th in the peloton, with a bunch sprint deciding the honours today.
After 177.3km from Heerenveen to Bolsward today, Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep) claimed victory.
He saw off Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) and Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott); two men in need of a win after difficult seasons to date.
Jakobsen is aged just 21 years and is new to the WorldTour this season.
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He rode for the Continental team SEG Racing last year when he took eight wins, including a stage of Tour de l’Avenir.
His victory today was his fourth of the season for QuickStep, with Mullen coming home in 70th place.
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?️ Relive the victory of @FabioJakobsen in the first stage. #binckbancktour pic.twitter.com/wMINjw1Dnr
— BinckBank Tour (@BinckBankTour) August 13, 2018
The 24-year-old Irish rider’s best chance in the seven-stage race is tomorrow’s TT. It is completely flat over a 12.7km course which starts and finishes in Venray.
It looks like a course made for Ryan Mullen. And having done a lot of TT preparation for last week’s European Championships, where he was 6th, it should be interesting to see what he can do.
He has already taken victory against the clock this year, winning a stage of the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina way back in January.
Mullen would then win the national title in June. And while he just came up short in Glasgow at the Europeans last Wednesday, the gaps were small.
He is clearly in very good form and will go to the start line in Holland tomorrow as one of the favourites.
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