11.29: Good morning and welcome to the live coverage of stage two of the Tour of Ireland. The race has just started and the peloton is rolling out of Thurles; there have been attacks from the drop of the flag.
11.30: After 1.4 kilometres of racing, three riders have attacked. They are Sean Lacey (Irish national team), Simon Holt (Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk) and Kieran Page (Pezula Racing).
They have been joined by Lars Petter Nordhaug (Joker Bianchi).
This group was reabsorbed and then others went clear. However they too were caught.
11.34: Gonzalo Rabunal Rios (Karpin Galicia) is out in front alone, but only has a small lead.
He is brought back and others go clear. We’ll wait until something gets established before giving more names as the situation is changing a lot. The peloton has split.
11.37: A number of riders have tried to get away, including Daniel Lloyd (An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly)
Chris Sutton (Garmin Chipotle) and Waylon Woolcock (MTN Energade) have been advised to retire from the race by the doctor. They started this morning but have been ill.
11.41: The peloton is back together. Daniel Martin is seeing the race doctor; he is still feeling ill. He hopes to continue on.
11.45: After 11.4 kilometres of racing, six riders are marginally ahead.
They have been caught, bar Fredrik Ericsson (Pezula Racing) who pushes on alone.
11.48: The peloton eases and Ericsson is 15 seconds clear after 13.3 kilometres of racing. This jumps up to 45 seconds.
11.54: He is now 1 minute 42 ahead, plugging away alone. The sun comes out – that will boost his morale.
12.02: Ericsson is two minutes 30 seconds clear, and riding well.
12.10: He now has three minutes 30 seconds. He’s on the category three climb of Mauherslieve, which summits 28.5 kilometres after the start. After that, the first of three An Post sprints takes place at Silvermines (km 46.1). It is followed by the day’s second cat 3 climb at Tountinna (km 53.3), the feed zone (km 62.4), plus An Post sprints two (km 108.7, Portumna) and three (km 142.3, Loughrea). The finish is also in Loughrea and comes after the riders complete a 16.1 kilometre circuit.
12.15: Ericsson crested the climb and is now on some rolling roads. He’s still looking good, and fully committed to the task. The gap back to the peloton at the top of the climb was 3 minutes 40 seconds.
12.21: Phew – lucky escape. Ericsson almost ran off the road on a sweeping left hand bend, but managed to keep off the grass and stay upright.
He’s punctured but his team car is beside him and he will move off very soon. Actually, it was longer than expected, but he’s back up on his bike again. The gap was four minutes before that stop, so he’ll have lost a little of that advantage.
The results of that first climb:
Category 3, Mauherslieve (km 26.5):
1, Fredrik Ericsson (Pezula Racing)
2, Matt Wilson (Team Type 1)
3, Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com AIS)
4, Moises Adalpe (Team Type 1)
12.29: He has covered 41 kilometres and is nearing the first An Post hot spot sprint.
12.31: He goes through the prime line, picking up the points there.
12.34: The race doctor has spoken on the radio, saying that Daniel Martin is not well (it’s understood he has both a stomach bug and is ill with cold symptoms). He said that he has advised him to stop, but that Martin is determined to continue as he is the Irish national champion. The 22 year old will continue for now, but the doctor is going to keep tabs on his condition.
12.36: Ericsson is plugging away into a headwind – hard going. He is four minutes 48 ahead.
Another result has been confirmed:
An Post hot spot sprint, Silvermines:
1, Fredrik Ericsson (Pezula Racing)
2, Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia)
3, Juan van Heerden (MTN Energade)
4, Julian Dean (Garmin Chipotle)
12.40: The sky remains cloudy but the sun is coming out from time to time.
12.43: Daniel Martin (Garmin Chipotle) has unfortunately had to retire from the race. He has been unwell since the start; that’s disappointing for the Irish champion, who has been flying this year and wanted to perform well here.
We are sure he’s going to go on to great things, and so protecting his health is probably the wisest decision.
12.47: He is now five minutes 50 seconds clear. He is on the day’s second category three climb, that of Tountinna.
12.57: Ericsson has headed down a long descent, with a bad surface. He made it down safely and the team directors have been informed to tell their riders to be careful.
The leader pushes on alone and is being filmed by the cameras; that’s a good publicity boost for the Pezula team.
13.03: He is now in the feedzone, having covered 62 kilometres. He is over six minute clear.
13.07: There’s long stretches of sun now, so that makes things more enjoyable for the spectators on the route. Many of them are wearing green An Post t-shirts.
Ericsson is now six minutes 40 seconds. He’s very focussed on the task ahead of him.
13.12: Kurt de Schrooder (An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) crashed in the feed zone when his musette tangled in his bike. He’s chasing back on to the peloton now.
13.14: It’s 22 degrees out there, so the riders have nice, mild conditions.
13.20: No change; one leader, a large main bunch behind which is content to give him some space right now.
13.35: The last time gap was five minutes 55 seconds.
13.40: Ericsson is very focussed but this long solo effort is surely sapping his energy. Will he have enough gas later on, when the peloton ramps up its speed?
It’s been a super day as regards the weather – although the sky is not clear, the sun has been out almost constantly.
The roads are, like yesterday, very up and down. Ericsson is constantly in and out of the saddle, trying to maintain his momentum.
13.51: His lead is dropping; he’s five minutes 29 seconds ahead now.
13.57: Ericsson has covered 100 kilometres. He is five minutes 24 seconds ahead with 58 kilometres remaining. It means that it’s possible he will stay clear, but by no means certain.
14.07: The gap is coming down now. The roads are wider and so he’s more exposed to winds. Ericsson is four minutes 19 ahead of the peloton, so he’s gotta pick up the pace again.
14.09: He is one kilometre from the second An Post sprint of the day, at Portumna. This is approximately 50 kilometres from the finish.
He gets the sprint (no surprise there!).
14.14: The gap was three minutes at the sprint. However the peloton is easing back somewhat.
A result:
An Post intermediate sprint in Portumna (km 108.7):
1, Fredrik Ericsson (Pezula Racing)
2, Julian Dean (Garmin Chipotle)
3, Alexander Kristoff (Joker Bianchi)
4, Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia)
14.22: The gap is two minutes 46 seconds. There’s some strong winds out there. Ericsson still looks strong, taking time checks and pushing hard. We understand he was second in the Swedish time trial championships this year; he’s certainly shown his strength today.
Even if he is ultimately caught, Pezula can be very satisfied with the showing today, and the attention gained.
14.30: It’s a wide open road, which makes things harder for him. There’s less shelter from the wind and on the longest stretches, the bunch could potentially see him (or the cars behind him).
14.41: Ericsson is on a hard stretch of road, uphill with a tough road surface. He’s digging in, trying to preserve as much speed as is possible. Crowds by the side of the road cheer him onwards.
The gap is two minutes 11 seconds. He reaches the top of that drag and then heads down the other side.
14.46: The bunch gradually draws closer and closer; he’s one minute 35 ahead now. We are inside the final 25 kilometres, heading towards the 20 to go banner.
14.51: Correction: we’ve just passed 25 kilometres to go now. He has one minute 32 seconds, and looks destined to be caught. That’s a pity, as he’s really ridden with strength and spirit today.
14.54: He’s in and out of the saddle, trying to keep his legs turning over. He’s been out front since approximately kilometre ten, so that’s some ride.
We got a message from Daniel Ekstrom. He said:
“Fredrik Ericsson is Swedish champion in time trial, he won ahead of Gustav Larsson (2:nd in the Olympics, Team CSC) and Tomas Lövkvist (Team Columbia), so he is really strong on time trailing. He and Gustav Larsson will be the two Swedish riders at the this years world championships.”
Thanks for that, Daniel! We agree, he has shown great form today.
14.59: He passes 20 kilometres to go, and is now one minute seven seconds ahead. He’ll reach the finish line in four kilometers, then begin the 16 kilometre finishing circuit. The crowds there will give him plenty of encouragement.
15.05: He has crossed the finish line and gone on by the fifteen kilometer to go banner. There were very good crowds in Loughrea, and they did plenty of hollering.
The gap is 42 seconds. He has ridden very well and deserves all the applause he is getting from the side of the road.
15.08: The gap is 36 seconds... Behind, several riders are being dropped by the peloton. So the speed is on.
What odds a repeat win by Mark Cavendish? He's certainly the fastest sprinter there... Julian Dean should be in the mix again.
15.11: There has been a crash in the peloton, with riders from several teams down. Meanwhile Ericsson has a 20 second lead.
The peloton is fragmented now because of the crash.
He is only 13 seconds ahead now.
15.12: He has been caught with about 11 kilometres to go. He has been immediately dropped. Hard luck, but very good ride.
The peloton is now in the final ten kilometres.
15.15: We think all of the riders are up and riding.
Kristian House (Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk) attacked and is six seconds clear…
15.18: House still leads; we think he’s got about seven kilometres to go, so it will be difficult.
15.21: He has been caught with four kilometres to go...will it be the second bunch sprint of the race?
15.22: Columbia leads the peloton...three kilometres to go.
All together in the final kilometre...we think there has been another crash...
It's Cavendish! Win number two for the Columbia rider, who defends his yellow jersey in style.
He's unstoppable this year...and still only 23 years of age..
We think one of the Rabobank riders was second - probably Michael Van Staeyen. Stay tuned for more results, we'll get those shortly...
Cavendish will keep the lead, of course. Hard luck to Ericsson, who was out there for all bar 20 kilometres of the stage. Great riding.
Okay, thanks for bearing with us while the results were being sorted out. Here's the provisional top ten:
1, Mark Cavendish (Columbia) 3 hours 57 mins 55 secs
2, Michael van Staeyen (Rabobank)
3, Max Richeze (CSF Group Navigare)
4, Kenny de Haes (Topsport Vlaanderen)
5, Russell Downing (Pinarello CandiTV)
6, Alexander Kristoff (Joker Bianchi)
7, Zakkari Dempster (SouthAustralia.com/AIS)
8, Ciaran Power (Pezula Racing)
9, Boy Van Poppel (Rabobank)
10, Nikolas Maes (Topsport Vlaanderen) all same time
Well done to Power - good to see an Irish rider in the top ten.
The general classification sees Cavendish increase his lead to thirteen second over Dean and a further one on Kirstoff. Richeze is fourth with Matt Wilson fifth.
Cavendish takes a clear lead in the points classification, and also heads the best young rider standings. Wilson remains at the head of the mountains competition.
We'll wrap up the live coverage now, as interviews need to be done. Please come back later for a complete report and results. Thanks for reading, and to An Post for sponsoring this coverage!
