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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
GOOD PERFORMANCE BY MCLAUGHLIN CAPS OFF AN POST’S STRONG TOUR OF BRITAIN CAMPAIGN
By Shane Stokes
19 Sep 2011,
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Following its stage with via the efforts of Gediminas Bagdonas on Saturday, the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team had more to celebrate on yesterday’s final day of racing.
Pieter Ghyllebert finished safely in the main bunch to seal a victory in the sprints classification competition which was forged through a lot of hard work since day one. He took the jersey in a long break on that opening stage, then continued to gain points as the eight day race progressed.
The Belgian had a sufficient lead not to have to worry about gathering points yesterday, and instead his Irish team-mate Ronan McLaughlin went on the attack from the drop of the flag and set about making a big push to join Ghyllebert in that classification.
Combining his efforts with former British road race champion Kristian House (Rapha Condor Sharp), McLaughlin opened up a maximum lead of over 30 seconds during the ten lap, 88.8 kilometre circuit race in London. He took maximum points in the intermediate sprints on laps two, six and eight, and then attacked House heading towards the final lap.
With the peloton closing rapidly, the Briton managed to get back to him and then jump clear himself, but everything came back together with approximately five kilometres remaining. A big bunch sprint ensued, where Mark Cavendish and his HTC Highroad team-mate Mark Renshaw repeated their stage one performance and took first and second.
Andrew Fenn was best of the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team in a fine eighth place. Bagdonas and Mark McNally also finished in the front group, while Ghyllebert, McLaughlin and Mark Cassidy plus Irish road race champion Matt Brammeier (HTC Highroad) were all further back.
McLaughlin’s efforts earned him the most aggressive rider award in the race, and also moved him to third in that intermediate sprints competition. The An Post team utterly dominated it, with Ghyllebert amassing almost double the points of his team-mate Bagdonas in second. McLaughlin (3rd), McNally (6th) and Fenn (8th) ensured the team had the top three plus two other riders in the top eight of that ranking. It was a reflection of how aggressively the An Post team had ridden the race.
“It was a wonderful week for me and the whole team,” said Ghyllebert afterwards. “I loved the beautiful stages we did. Almost every day we were involved in the break so for the whole team it’s fantastic. It was a bit of a tough start with the weather but other than that it was very nice.”
McLaughlin gave his own thoughts on Twitter after the end of the stage. “Finally got my breakaway in the Tour of Britain. Got away from the gun. Amazing crowd today, so much support. Thanks to all.
“Delighted to be part of the Sean Kelly team, fantastic performance at the Tour of Britain in nearly every break, stage win, few top10's, won sprints jersey. Five in top six [actually top 8] of sprints comp, someone in nearly every break n much fun with our great team.”
Overnight leader Lars Boom extended his lead in the 8.8 kilometre morning time trial, finishing five seconds behind Alex Dowsett (Sky Procycling) in second place. Steve Cummings (Sky Procycling) was fourth quickest and moved up to second overall, 36 seconds back.
Bagdonas was best of the An Post riders in 23rd, five places better than McNally, while Brammeier was 26th.
Boom rolled in as part of the main bunch in the afternoon stage and retained that advantage over Cummings. Fenn was best-placed of the An Post riders in 15th, two minutes and 53 seconds back. His team-mates were 34th (Bagdonas), 62nd (Ghyllebert), 63rd (McLaughlin), 68th (McNally) and 76th (Cassidy). Brammeier was 71st in his last race before Wednesday’s Elite time trial at the world championships.
As regards the other classifications, Fenn was eighth in the points ranking and Ghyllebert was sixth in the mountains competition. The team was 12th overall and its aggressive, ambitious performance showed that it was more than capable of squaring up against the WorldTour teams in the race.
That bodes well for future invites and also reflects the ongoing progression of the squad.
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Tour of Britain:
Stage 8a, London time trial:
1, Alex Dowsett (Sky Procycling) 8.8 kilometres in 10 mins 14 secs
2, Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team) at 5 secs
3, Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
4, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) at 9 secs
5, Geraint Thomas (Sky Procycling) at 16 secs
6, Alexander Wetterhall (Endura Racing) at 19 secs
Other:
23, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 46 secs
26, Matthew Brammeier (HTC-Highroad) at 49 secs
28, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at mins 50 secs
32, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 52 secs
57, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 15 secs
62, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 21 secs
70, Mark Cassidy (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 30 secs
Teams:
1, Sky Procycling, at 31 mins 7 secs
2, Endura Racing, at 53 secs
3, Rabobank, at 56 secs
Other:
8, An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly, at 2 mins 3 secs
General classification after stage 8a:
1, Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team 2) at 4 hours 58 mins 17 secs
2, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) at 36 secs
3, Jan Barta (Team NetApp) at 56 secs
4, Linus Gerdemann (Leopard Trek) at 57 secs
5, Leopold Konig (Team NetApp) at 1 min 1 secs
6, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Rapha Condor - Sharp) at 1 min 3 secs
7, Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) at 1 min 12 secs
8, Iker Camano Ortuzar (Endura Racing)
9, Joost Posthuma (Leopard Trek) at 1 min 13 secs
10, Daniel Lloyd (Team Garmin-Cervelo) at 1 min 25 secs
Other:
15, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 2 mins 58 secs
35, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 9 mins 57 secs
58, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 15 mins 59 secs
59, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 16 mins 2 secs
70, Matthew Brammeier (HTC-Highroad) at 18 mins 3 secs
72, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 18 mins 19 secs
77, Mark Cassidy (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 29 mins 47 secs
Points classification:
1, Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team) 66 pts
2, Geraint Thomas (Sky Procycling) 58
3, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) 52
4, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) 35
5, Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) 30
Other:
7, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 25
13, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 15
Sprint classification:
1, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 36 pts
2, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 15
3, Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport - Specialized) 13
4, Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team) 11
5, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 10
6, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 10
Mountains classification:
1, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 71 pts
2, Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport - Specialized) 48
3, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) 30
4, Linus Gerdemann (Leopard Trek) 28
5, Jack Bauer (Endura Racing) 20
6, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 19
Other:
12, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 12
15, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 9
16, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 9
37, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 3
Teams classification:
1, Sky Procycling
2, Leopard Trek, at 1 min 28 secs
3, Rabobank, at 3 mins 56 secs
4, Team NetApp, at 7 mins 36 secs
5, Rapha Condor – Sharp, at 8 mins 5 secs
6, HTC-Highroad, at 10 mins 8 secs
Other:
12, An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly, at 19 mins 42 secs
Stage 8b, London:
1, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) 88.8 kilometres in 1 hours 59 mins 13 secs
2, Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad)
3, Robert Förster (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling)
4, Geraint Thomas (Sky Procycling)
5, Ben Swift (Sky Procycling)
6, Giacomo Nizzolo (Leopard Trek)
7, Tobyn Horton (Motorpoint)
8, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly)
9, Dan Craven (Rapha Condor - Sharp)
10, Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) all same time
Other:
21, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly)
25, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) both same time
70, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 2 secs
71, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 21 secs
73, Matthew Brammeier (HTC-Highroad) at 1 min 40 secs
78, Mark Cassidy (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 2 mins 20 secs
Sprint 1 - Finish line lap 2, 17.7km:
1, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 5 pts
2, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 3
3, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 2
4, Bartosz Huzarski (Team NetApp) 1
Sprint 2 - Finish line lap 6, 53.3km:
1, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 5 pts
2, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 3
3, Jan Barta (Team NetApp) 2
4, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 1
Sprint 3 - Finish line lap 8, 70.9km:
1, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 5 pts
2, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 3
3, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 2
4, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 1
Most aggressive rider: 1, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly)
Teams:
1, Motorpoint, at 5 hours 57 mins 44 secs
2, Sky Procycling
3, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, at 5 secs
4, Leopard Trek
5, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
6, An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly, all same time
Final general classification:
1, Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team) 26 hours 57 mins 35 secs
2, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) at 36 secs
3, Jan Barta (Team NetApp) at 55 secs
4, Linus Gerdemann (Leopard Trek) at 57 secs
5, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Rapha Condor - Sharp) at 1 min 3 secs
6, Iker Camano Ortuzar (Endura Racing) at 1 min 7 secs
7, Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) at 1 min 12 secs
8, Joost Posthuma (Leopard Trek) at 1 min 13 secs
9, Leopold Konig (Team NetApp) at 1 min 19 secs
10, Daniel Lloyd (Team Garmin-Cervelo) at 1 min 25 secs
Other:
15, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 2 mins 53 secs
34, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 9 mins 57 secs
62, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 16 mins 59 secs
63, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 17 mins 12 secs
68, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 18 mins 19 secs
71, Matthew Brammeier (HTC-Highroad) at 19 mins 38 secs
76, Mark Cassidy (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 32 mins 2 secs
Points classification:
1, Geraint Thomas (Sky Procycling) 70 pts
2, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) 67
3, Lars Boom (Rabobank Cycling Team) 66
4, Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad) 43
5, Robert Förster (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) 39
Other:
8, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 33
Sprint classification:
1, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 36 pts
2, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 20
3, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 15
4, Kristian House (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 15
5, Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport - Specialized) 13
6, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 11
Other:
8, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 10
Mountains classification:
1, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Rapha Condor - Sharp) 71 pts
2, Russell Hampton (Sigma Sport - Specialized) 48
3, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) 30
4, Linus Gerdemann (Leopard Trek) 28
5, Jack Bauer (Endura Racing) 20
Other:
6, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 19
12, Andrew Fenn (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 12
Teams classification:
1, Sky Procycling
2, Leopard Trek, at 1 min 33 secs
3, Rabobank, at 4 mins 12 secs
4, Team NetApp, at 7 mins 41 secs
5, Rapha Condor – Sharp, at 8 mins 10 secs
6, HTC-Highroad, at 10 mins 15 secs
Other:
12, An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly, at 19 mins 47 secs
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