An Post Rás: Okrouhlicky edges out Aiken for stage seven win, Bialoblocki retains yellow
Final big mountain stage less decisive than anticipatedEnding the stage in a furious three-man sprint to the line, Tomas Okrouhlicky (Czech Republic AC Sparta Praha) just edged out Roger Aiken (Louth Prague Charter Team) into Naas, taking the win by half a bike length. Jakub Kratochvila (Austria Arbo Gebrder Weiss) was third in the same time, with the trio holding off hard-chasing riders Michael Northey (Britain Node4 Giordana Racing) and Ben Greenwood (Scotland National Team), who were 22 seconds behind. They in turn staved off the chase of a bigger group, which rolled in one second further back and which contained race leader Marcin Bialoblocki (Britain UK Youth Pro Cycling) plus the other main challengers. Connor McConvey (Azerbaijan Synergy Baku) and Rasmus Guldhammer (Denmark Blue Water) did what they could to try to break Bialoblocki’s grip over the race but were unable to do so, with the two riders finishing [...]
Video: Guldhammer feels ready to return to WorldTour level, in regular contact with Brian Holm
Talented young climber believes he has matured, chasing An Post Rás yellow jersey todayHaving taken the unusual step of voluntarily walking away from a contract with the top HTC Highroad team in October 2010, Rasmus Guldhammer has said that he believes he is now ready to resume racing at the WorldTour level.The Danish climber highlighted his talent when he won the Under-23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege Classic and the GP Portugal in 2008, then placed fourth in the 2009 Tour of Denmark at just 20 years of age. “We've all got used to seeing Rasmus's back wheel on the climbs!" said Tejay van Garderen at the time. Signed to HTC for the following season, he never settled in with the team and asked to be released at the end of the season so he could return to being based in Denmark. Seasons with the Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland and Christina Watches teams [...]
Rogers speeds in for stage six triumph in An Post Rás, yellow jersey covers attacks
Bialoblocki still in driving seat as race heads towards bigger climbs today Coping with a succession of steep climbs inside the final 50 kllometres of the race, Australian fastman Rico Rogers blasted home to victory on stage six of the An Post Rás into Carlow on Friday. The Synergy Baku rider was quickest of the 48 riders in contention for the stage win, beating Owain Doull (Great Britain National Team), race leader Marcin Bialoblocki (Britain UK Youth Pro Cycling), Nick Stopler (Holland Koga Cycling Team) plus the others to the line. He crashed afterwards, sustaining cuts to his nose, but was otherwise okay and was able to celebrate the victory on the podium and speak about the result to the media afterwards. “It is brilliant, actually. Last year I didn’t get to do the Rás and I really wanted to,” he said. “I kind of felt like I missed out [...]
Video: McConvey looking for opportunities to seize An Post Rás yellow jersey
McCann talks about Irishman’s chances plus new Synergy Baku teamGoing close to nabbing the leader’s jersey in the An Post Rás with a late attack at the end of yesterday’s fifth stage, Connor McConvey has pledged that he will keep trying to move up from second overall. He and Rasmus Guldhammer (Blue Water Cycling) are both on the same time as the GC leader Marcin Bialoblocki, and gave the Team UK Youth rider a scare when they clipped away with the day’s winner Moreno De Pauw (Belgium) four kilometres from the line. They opened an eight second lead, but the peloton just managed to latch onto the back of the group at the line. This saved Bialoblocki’s jersey. “Today was probably the real first day we went on the offensive, in terms of getting rid of Marcin,” McConvey said in the video interview below. “And that is the way we [...]
An Post Rás: De Pauw wins, Bialoblocki put under pressure by late attack by McConvey and Guldhammer
Video: Polish rider almost loses race lead on stage five of race, top three riders locked on same timeLaunching an attack in the final four kilometres of an otherwise tightly controlled stage, Irishman Connor McConvey (Synergy Baku) and the Dane Rasmus Guldhammer (Blue Water Cycling) put Marcin Bialoblocki’s yellow jersey under serious threat on today’s fifth stage of the An Post Rás. The duo had started the day second and third overall, deadlocked on time with UK Youth Pro Cycling rider Bialoblocki. Their late move close to the line in Mitchelstown saw them quickly gain eight seconds on the rest of the bunch and, combining with the Belgian national team rider Moreno De Pauw, they rode hard to try to stay clear. They did indeed hit the line first, with De Pauw outsprinting Guldhammer and McConvey on the uphill drag to the line, but hard chasing by the bunch saw [...]
Video: Sam Bennett gets crucial confidence boost with An Post Rás stage win
Irish rider speaks at length about worlds 2012 ride, aspirations for current season and more An Post Chainreaction Sean Kelly rider Sam Bennett has spoken of the morale boost he got in winning stage three of the An Post Rás, saying that the victory was a very important one after a lean spell. “I am pretty happy – it is a long time since I got a win, I think over a year and a half. So it is a relief, also,” he told VeloNation in the first of two video interviews featured below. “I think this is very important [for my confidence] – I haven’t had a win in a long time and I think I needed one, especially for my head. Hopefully there is more to come.” Bennett’s ability is clear to all, with strong showings against professional riders in the Tour of Britain being followed by a [...]