Wilkinson Grabs Stage And Yellow Jersey
By
May 18, 2009, 20:42
Three weeks ago he won the East Midlands CiCLE Classic in Rutland, vanquishing the opposition on rough, farm-track roads. Today, British rider Ian Wilkinson (Halfords Bike Hut) redisplayed that toughness when he took a dominant stage win on the second stage of the FBD Rás in Cobh.
The 32 year old was the strongest out of an eight man group which had gone clear just ten kilometres into the 178 kilometre stage, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor), but at last three minutes ahead of the rest of the field.
Wilkinson dropped his compatriot on the steep 500 metre rise to the line, seizing the yellow jersey in what is his first Rás. He ended the rain-lashed, wind-buffeted stage three minutes and three seconds ahead of another former breakaway companion Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken), while Rune Jogert (Norway Giant-Veolia), Jan Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers), Bert Roesems (Australia Cinelli-Down Under) and Darren Lapthorne (Britain Rapha Condor) were a further 35 seconds back.
Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant Veoila) was the only other rider to finish inside four minutes of the winner; the rest of the field were at least seven minutes down, with the peloton coming in nine minutes and 45 seconds in arrears. This group included yesterday’s stage winner and yellow jersey holder Niko Eeckhout (An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), who has now lost all hope of winning the race.
David O’Loughlin (An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) was best of the Irish, but he won’t be happy with how things played out. The Mayo rider had been part of the original break, as had Paul Healion (Ireland national team), and was ahead with Wilkinson, Richardson and Christensen with approximately 30 kilometres remaining. However he had not been working as much as the others and became caught up in an argument with Christensen, who stalled repeatedly and tried to take him out of the back of the break.
Wilkinson and Richardson put the hammer down and left the other two behind; Christensen hung on for third, but O’Loughlin faded to eventually finish eleventh, just over seven minutes back. He was best of the home crowd but, along with most of the peloton, now looks to have very little chance of winning the race overall.
Wilkinson appears to be in a great position, but he knows that it will be complicated to defend the lead so early in the race. He’s keen to try to take more time.
“I am looking forward to tomorrow, getting into the mountains,” he said “That will probably thin the field out a bit more. I am not a mountain goat but I like to think I can get over a climb or two.
“Today was a tough day, it worked out well for me. There was a lot of rain and wind, it got really cold in the break but I had a raincape on and that helped. After the main climb of the day it seemed like a group was coming across to us but it never really progressed. We got rid of a couple of other riders on the last King of the Mountains and kept going until the end.
“We came left on the cobbles and then turned right...the road kicked up and I dropped it down into the little ring and went away from him. I was pretty sure it would work out well as I was quite a bit stronger in a lot of places today. I know Simon from racing back home and it was a case of whoever had more left.”
Like Wilkinson, Richardson is also a former mountainbike rider. He showed similar grit in tough conditions. “We went clear very early on, after perhaps ten kilometres,” he said afterwards. “It was a very hard day out there, there was a block headwind and we thought that we were going to be caught. But each time we pulled away again.”
He won stage four into Skibbereen last year and took the yellow jersey 24 hours later in Clonmel. He has a chance to do so again tomorrow, but will need to get the better of the rider who beat him today. Yet both will also need to be careful; they used a lot of energy today and are likely to be fatigued, and those who are left behind will do their utmost to attack, get clear, and haul themselves back into contention. That should make for some great racing.
How it happened:
162 riders lined out for the second stage of the FBD Insurance Rás, a rolling 178 kilometre stage from Wexford to Cobh. It featured three climbs – the second category ascent of The Sweep (km 114), sandwiched by the third category pairing of Glenmore (km 41.5) and Youghal (km 135.4).
British Airways airline pilot Steve Calland (Britain Surrey Racing League) was first to attack, taking a flier shortly after the start and building a 20 second lead. He was joined by Paul Healion (Ireland national team) and Eugene Moriarty (Meath Engraveit/ie/BDBC), who then pressed on ahead.
They were caught soon afterwards, prompting a succession of attacks. After approximately ten kilometres David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M.Donnelly), Paul Healion (Ireland National Team), Pete Williams (Britain Candi TV Marshalls Pasta) and Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) slipped away, and were soon joined by Sven De Weerdt (Australia Cinelli-DownUnder), Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor), James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo), Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) and Joachim Pettersen (Norway Giant-Veolia). The latter dropped back to the peloton soon afterwards but the other eight pressed on and opened a good lead.
Resisting the efforts of other riders to bridge across, the octet raced through New Ross and on to the Glenmore climb, where Williams jumped clear to take the prime ahead of Spragg, O’Loughlin and De Weerdt. The gap continued to grow, increasing to over three minutes by Waterford, but then dropped slightly when various groups clipped away from the peloton.
After approximately 55 kilometres of racing quadruple Tour de France stage winner Jaan Kirsipuu (Norway Giant-Veolia), Steve Lampier (Merseyside KuK Kinesis Bikes), Kristian House (Britain Rapha Condor), John Veness (Britain Surrey Racing League) and Brian Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC) set off in pursuit.
They were then joined by several others, namely Paidi O'Brien (Ireland An Post M.Donnelly), Martyn Irvine (Ireland National Team), Leon van Bon (China Trek Marco Polo), Luke Roberts (Germany Kuota-Indeland), Alexander Gottfried (Germany Kuota-Indeland), Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant-Veolia), Chris Newton (Britain Rapha Condor), Rob Partridge (Britain Halfords Bike Hut), Russell Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls), James Sampson (Britain Candi TV Marshalls), Simon Kelly (Dublin IRC Ushers Insulations) and Michael Fitzgerald (Dublin Eurocycles).
The presence of several strong riders in the move made it look very promising but while it made some in roads into the break’s lead, the peloton eventually hauled back the chase. Up front, Richardson beat Williams, Christensen, Spragg, Wilkinson and O’Loughlin on the category two climb of The Sweep, 64 kilometres from the finish.
Healion and De Weerdt were dropped on the climb, while Williams and Spragg were jettisoned soon afterwards. The break’s lead had dropped to under a minute with 50 kilometres to go and so the riders ramped up the speed, pulling away again.
As the skies cleared and the rain finally abated, Alexander Gottfried (Germany Kuota Indeland) got clear and tried to close in on the leading four. He was caught and passed by Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant Veoila), but got back up to the latter when he was caught by Bert Roesems (Australia Cinelli Down Under).
Christensen was first to the top of the day’s final climb, the category three ascent at Youghal. Wilkinson, O’Loughlin and Richardson followed him across the prime line, the quartet having a lead of over one minute on the pursuers. Further back, Jan Barta (Austria Arbo KTM Junkers), Rune Jogert (Norway Giant Veoila) and Darren Lapthorne (Britain Rapha Condor) were chasing hard, while the peloton had lost all impetus and dropped to nearly five minutes back.
At that point, it looked almost certain that the leading four would dispute the stage win. That didn’t last, though; O’Loughlin had not been working and Christensen took him out the back of the group. The Mayo rider chased back on twice but finally cracked. Christensen had miscalculated, though; Wilkinson and Richardson put the hammer down and drew clear of the Dane, thus narrowing the number of stage contenders to two.
Heading into the final ten kilometres, the leaders were being chased by Christensen, who in turn was ahead of a quartet comprising Jorgen Jensen, Roesems, Barta and Jogert. Gottfried, O’Loughlin and Spragg were losing more ground, while the peloton was a long way back.
Wilkinson had been looking stronger and proved this when he dropped Richardson on the steep drag up to the finish in Cobh. He hit the line fourteen seconds clear, with Christensen trailing in three minutes and three seconds back. Jogert, Barta, Roesems and Lapthorne were a further 33 seconds in arrears, while Ole Jorgen Jense was the only other rider within four minutes of the new race leader. The former yellow jersey, Niko Eeckhout (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) had a day to forget, rolling home as part of the main bunch nine minutes and 45 seconds back.
What’s next:
The 2.2 ranked international event continues tomorrow with the longest stage, a 189 kilometre slog from Cobh to Cahirciveen. It is also first mountain stage of the race. Although not Alpine in nature, the profile should shake things up even more; it features the category three climb of Coolavokig, plus the first category pair of The Coom and Coomakista. The latter tops out 24 kilometres from the finish and will provide a perfect springboard for attacks.
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FBD Rás (2.2), stage 2, Wexford – Cobh:
1, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 177.6 kilometres in 4 hours 56 mins 11 secs
2, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) at 14 secs
3, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) at 3 minutes 3 secs
4, Rune Jogert (Norway Giant-Veolia) at 3 mins 38 secs
5, Jan Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers)
6, Bert Roesems (Australia Cinelli-Down Under)
7, Darren Lapthorne (Britain Rapha Condor) all same time
8, Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant-Veolia) at 3 mins 49 secs
9, Alexander Gottfried (Germany Kuota-Indeland) at 6 mins 57 secs
10, James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo), at 6 mins 58 secs
11, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), at 7 mins 7 secs
12, Russ Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls), at 7 mins 32 secs
13, Kasper Jebjerg (Denmark Designa Kokken)
14, Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers)
15, Chris Newton (Britain Rapha Condor), all same time
Category 3 climb, Glenmore, 41.5km:
1, Pete Williams (Britain CandiTV Marshall’s Pasta) 5pts
2, James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo) 4
3, David O’Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 3
4, Sven De Weerdt (Australia Cinelli Down Under) 2
Category 2 climb, The Sweep, 114km:
1, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) 10 pts
2, Pete Williams (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) 8
3, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) 6
4, James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo) 4
5, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 3
6, David O’Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 1
Category 3 climb, Youghal, 135.4km:
1, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) 5 pts
2, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 4
3, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 3
4, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) 2
County rider:
1, Peter Hawkins (Dublin IRC Ushers Insulations), 5 hours 3 mins 47 secs
2, Stephen O'Sullivan (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC), at 10 secs
3, Michael Hennessy (Waterford Comeragh CC), at 15 secs
International team:
1, Britain Rapha Condor, 14 hours59 mins 57 secs
2, Britain Halfords Bike Hut, at 3 mins 50 secs
3, Norway Giant Veoila, at 5 mins 29 secs
4, Australia Cinelli Down Under, at 8 mins 4 secs
5, Austria Arbo KTM Junkers, at 8 mins 33 secs
County team:
1, Dublin IRC Usher Insulations, 15 hours 13mins 39 secs
2, Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies, at 1 mins 28 secs
3, Tipperary Dan Morrissey, at 1 min 47 secs
4, Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC, at 2 mins 10 secs
5, Waterford Comeragh CC, at 2 mins 15 secs
General classification:
1, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 7 hours 49 mins 18 secs
2, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) at 19 secs
3, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) at 3 mins 8 secs
4, Rune Jogert (Norway Giant-Veolia) at 3 mins 43 secs
5, Darren Lapthorne (Britain Rapha Condor)
6, Bert Roesems (Australia Cinelli-Down Under)
7, Jan Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) all same time
8, Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant-Veolia), 3 mins 54 secs
9, Alexander Gottfried (Germany Kuota-Indeland), at 7 mins 2 secs
10, James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo), at 7 mins 3 secs
11, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), at 7 mins 12 secs
12, Russell Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls), at 7 mins 29 secs
13, Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers), at 7 mins 37 secs
14, Chris Newton (Britain Rapha Condor)
15, Kasper Jebjerg (Denmark Designa Kokken), both same time
Points:
1, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 22 pts
2, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) 18
3, Russell Downing (Britain CandiTV Marshall’s Pasta) 18
4, Niko Eeckhout (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 15
5, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) 13
Mountains:
1, Pete Williams (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) 13 pts
2, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) 12
3, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) 11
4, James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo) 8
5, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 7
Under 23:
1, Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant-Veolia) 7 hours 53 mins 12 secs
2, James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo) at 3 mins 9 secs
3, Nicholas Walker (Australia Cinelli-Down Under) at 3 mins 48 secs
4, Ciaran Cassidy (Ireland Development U23), at 3 mins 57 secs
5, Nicholas Walker (Australia Cinelli-Down Under), at 4 mins 18 secs
CI Category 2:
1, Daniel Clifford (Kildare Projector World), 7 hours 59 mins 2 secs
2, John Dempsey (Tipperary Dan Morrissey), at 4 secs
3, Don Feighery (Waterford Comeragh CC), at 6 secs
4, Chris Coyle (Mayo Castlebar WesternEdge)
5, Ruaidhrí Geraghty (Galway Nigel's Bikes), both same time
County rider:
1, Peter Hawkins (Dublin IRC Ushers Insulations). 7 hours 56 mins 59 secs
2, Stephen O'Sullivan (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC), at 10 secs
3, Michael Hennessy (Waterford Comeragh CC), at 15 secs
4, Neil Delahaye (Dublin IRC Ushers Insulations), at 21 secs
5, Micéal Concannon (Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies), at 30 secs
International team:
1, Britain Rapha Condor, 23 hours 39 mins 33 secs
2, Britain Halfords Bike Hut, at 3 mins 50 secs
3, Norway Giant Veoila, at 5 mins 27 secs
4, Australia Cinelli Down Under, at 8 mins 2 secs
5, Austria Arbo KTM Junkers, at 8 mins 33 secs
County team:
1, Dublin IRC Usher Insulations, 23 hours 53 mins 15 secs
2, Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies, at 1 min 28 secs
3, Tipperary Dan Morrissey, at 1 min 45 secs
4, Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC, at 2 mins 10 secs
5, Waterford Comeragh CC, at 2 mins 15 secs
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