Nearly There: Markus Eibegger of the Synergy Baku cycling team nears the end of Rás stage 6 at the top of Seskin Hill to take a fantastic win (Photo: Ramsey Cardy - Sportsfile)
By Shane Stokes
Austrian rider Markus Eibegger pulled off a superb victory on stage six of the An Post Rás, soloing to victory atop Seskin Hill after being out front for most of the stage, being caught by a chase group, and still having the power to go again.
The Azerbaijan Synergy Baku rider said that those reinforcements were key to his victory, with the extra impetus they provided enabling him to take a breather, gather his strength and make a final all out bid for victory.
“I will definitely remember the way I won,” he said after the stage.
Advertisement
“It was a tough ride and I am usually not going in a two man breakaway, I am more the guy who waits for the final. But in this race you can’t wait for the final, you have to do something before. I am quite lucky it worked out so well.
“It was really a tough ride today. I always had the words of our sport director in my head, that the small Irish roads are good for a breakaway. But we had a massive long highway with a 140 kilometre headwind section, just with two guys.
“In the end I was quite happy when we stopped with 25 kilometres to go and this group of six guys caught us. It was a little relaxed for me just to sit on because everybody knew I was f**ked, I was done.
“I was really happy with the last climb, I just made a massive pull and it worked out.”
Eibegger went clear in a nine man move which started inside the first half hour of the 167.9 kilometre stage from Clonakilty to Seskin Hill.
The move also contained the Canadian Remi Pelletier Roy, Micha Glowatzki (Germany Team Kuota), Davide Ballerini (Italy Team Idea 2010 Asd) and Lars Horring (Netherlands Parkhotel Valkenburg), as well as Irish competitors Simon Ryan (Tipperary South), Damien Shaw (Cork City Aquablue), Ronan McLaughlin (Donegal Inishowen Gateway McCafe) and Ian Richardson (Dublin Central UCD Arrow).
Related News
They opened a lead of more than three minutes over the race leader Fankhauser.
However Eibegger was unhappy with Ballerini, who he felt was not pulling his weight. And after trying unsuccessfully to take him out the back and to leave him stranded, instead attacked with Pelletier Roy.
The two battled on into a headwind and managed to open a lead of over six minutes. However the peloton closed to within a minute of them with 25 kilometres remaining and things looked bleak.
Salvation came in the shape of several other riders, with these jumping across the gap and adding fresh energy to the move.
“In the end another six guys caught us and then it was quite nice to sit on and wait for the final climb,” he said.
Eibegger then kicked hard at the bottom of Seskin Hill, showing he still had something in the tank despite his marathon ride out front. He said that he had no choice but to play things out the way he did.
“It was my only chance to go from the beginning and try to do the fastest time up the hill,” he told stickybottle.
“I had no more power left for any tactical games. I can’t sprint or so, I just always need to go at my maximum.
“I looked for the fastest time on this uphill section and to just do it by myself. That was the only chance for me.”
Watch the video for more from Eibegger, including the team’s aims for the remainder of the race.
Markus Eibegger speaks to Shane Stokes
Topics
