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2010 RIS Junior Tour of Wales
August 28-30, 2010 | Wales | Day 2 (Stages 3 & 4)
What a day it was on the second day of the RIS Junior Tour of Wales. It started with wind and rain and the field of 100 riders splitting almost straight away on the hilly circuit at the Brynbach Park. After a select group got away, it was British Road Race Champion Dan McLay (Hargroves Cycles) who triumphed with a solo effort.
The World Madison Champion (pictured above) made it two stages from two in the afternoon when he was quite simply ‘motoring’. McLay and Tom Moses (Glendene CC) got clear of the break they were in with McLay winning the sprint to take the stage and the Yellow jersey.
Stage 3
Held on a closed circuit, the race was only 30 minutes plus three laps but with a howling wind and a very lumpy circuit, the race was going to be very testing indeed. Jerseys to the leaders of the classifications were held before the start with Joshua Edmondson (Motorpoint Marshals Pasta) in the Yellow leaders jersey, Simon Yates (Max Gear) in the King of the Mountains (he was 2nd behind Edmondson) and Owain Doull (Hargroves Cycles) who was wearing the Points jersey.
As soon as the race raced started, the attacks up the hill were launched and within a lap, a select group with the Yellow jersey had formed. Also in there was Dan McLay (Hargroves Cycles) and the British Junior Road Race Champion was out to prove to himself, among others, that even on a lumpy course, he was as strong as anybody.
Dan Mclay on his way to a solo victory on stage 3.
The leade group numbered around half a dozen and included winner of stage 1, Sam Harrison (Wales), Joshua Edmondson, Simon Yates, Dan McLay, Connor Dunne, Tom Moses (both Glendene CC), and Matthew Holmes (Wallis/CHH) . Behind, the race was well and truly split with the peloton and then many more smaller groups with riders struggling with the wind and the climbing.
Many tried to chase the break down and only one made it, Jamie Shirlaw of Herbal Life Wheelbase. Others like Adam Yates (Max Gear) and Lewis Balyckyi (Wallis CHH) certainly tried hard and never gave up but were to never catch the leaders. There was also bad luck for a few riders with Alistair Slater getting a pedal in his wheel and losing a bunch of spokes for his trouble whilst it was worse for Ben Mountford of the Halesowen A&CC who crashed but carried on like the hardened bike rider that he is.
Despite the race breaking up so early on, the gaps behind the lead group never exploded and most riders were able to stay on the same lap as the leaders. The race though did liven up in the final few laps with riders like Joshua Edmondson trying to get free but the yellow jersey wasn't being given any freedom.
The attacking came from the word go ...
Dan McLay though did get free of his rivals after a Hot Spot Sprint four laps from the finish which saw him and Connor Dunne get a gap on the others. Seeing the gap, McLay gave it full gas up the climb and whilst losing Dunne, the gap opened even more and was never closed as McLay took the stage win solo. In the sprint behind by the riders in the chase group, Simon Yates beat Sam Harrison to the line for second.
Speaking after the stage, Dan explained “I wanted to prove something to myself today. Yesterday, there was a mistake with the directions and I was on the limit and went with it but with hindsight, I knew it was the other way. I felt yesterday that I could have won the stage so I wanted to prove to myself on a circuit like this, that I am the strongest or one of them.”
“I think I timed it right. I was trying to take the points off Connor because a teammate Owain Doull was in the Points jersey and then after that second sprint, we had a gap so I went full gas up the climb and Connor couldn't stick with it. I just gradually pulled out a gap on the chasers. I don't know what has happening behind, probably a bit of looking around.”
He admits with the strong wind that it was tough out there by himself myself but that it had been great winning the stage wearing the jersey of British Junior Road Race Champion. “I feel proud every time I pull the jersey on” he says “and I feel I have to make the racing and prove that I deserve it every time I race, its very motivating”.
Simon Yates and Sam Harrison sprint it out for second.
Result
1. Daniel McLay HAR 44:13
2. Simon Yates MAX 44:31
3. Sam Harrison WAL
4. Jamie Shirlaw HLW
5. Tom Moses GLN 0 0
6. Joshua Edmonson MPM
7. Matthew Holmes TWC
8. Conor Dunne GLN 2 44:44
9. Adam Yates MAX 45:33
10. Lewis Balyckyi TWC 45:35
Stage 4
After the morning appetizer, stage 4 was a real humdinger where British Junior Road Race champion Dan Mclay took the race by the scruff of the neck and gave it such a shake, he turned the overall classification on its head. The Hargroves Cycles rider went into the stage in fourth place overall and on a stage more suited to him with its rolling terrain buffeted by strong winds, he and many others went on the attack.
Joshua Edmondson, in the third group on the road and in trouble.
No sooner had they field descended down the long climb towards Abergavenny, that the attacks started to come thick and fast and as they approached the end of the dual carriageway near Abergavenny, a small group had already pulled out a small gap. Riders in the break included Dan McLay, Tom Moses, Jack Clarke and Owen Lake. The break had swelled to a large group of a twenty or more riders after another ten miles and this group also included the likes of race leader Joshua Edmondson and Simon Yates.
The group had a loop to do on the roads near Monmouth before returning to Raglan and then returning back towards Monmouth for the final time. At Raglan at the end of the first loop, Matt Bailey of Kuota Road CC was away on his own but as he came round the turn to start another loop, he went off course while the break, under attack from Welsh Commonwealth Games rider, Sam Harrison, carried on towards Monmouth down the dual carriageway past Raglan Castle. Bailey appeared shortly after, chasing the break now instead of them chasing him.
After a wait of half an hour at Raglan, during which time the attacks continued to be launched by those wanting to break up the now too big a lead group, the leaders came back into sight and a look down the long straight road and the shape of the race could be seen as the once solid lead group was now spread out along the space of half a mile or more.
The much slimmer lead group now contained many of the strong contenders such as McLay, Harrison, Moses, Oliver Rossi, Owain Doull and the Yates brothers, Simon and Adam. Missing was the yellow jersey, Joshua Edmondson though and along came the chasers lead by Lewis Balyckyi and the yellow jersey wasn’t in there either.
It was third group on the road that contained the yellow jersey and as he came up to the end of the dual carriage way, he was attacking and trying to get back to the front.
Stage number 2 for Dan McLay
It was to never come and while the front group continued to split under the pressure of Harrison, Moses and McLay, the yellow jersey was losing ground fast. As the riders started the long long climb up to the finish at Brynmawr, three riders went clear at the front, Harrison, Mclay and Moses and with McLay driving the break along to make up lost time on the GC from day 1, Harrison too fell victim to the national champion’s powerful form.
Only Moses could stay with him but the result of the stage was never in doubt as McLay resisted any attempt by the Glendene rider to take the stage off him and the British Champion, wearing the race’s Green jersey, had plenty of time to raise his arms in celebration of a fine victory. Riders then continued to come in at a steady stream, some alone, some in small groups, some in big groups but for the Yellow jersey, Joshua Edmondson, the stage was a bad one as he lost almost seven minutes. His yellow jersey and grip on the race was gone.
The new race leader after stage 4 is Dan McLay who now has the Yellow jersey from Sam Harrison and Tom Moses with Edmondson back in 11th, over six minutes down on McLay. Only one stage remains and with a finish on the Tumble, one can only imagine the way the GC will be once again be turned upside down on the steep slopes of the Black mountain.
The race only a few k old and already a break has formed.
Post race reactions
Dan McLay: “I am absolutely chuffed with today” Dan explained after the race. “I didn’t expect the race to split so much today but I was in the front and fortunately we had two of us (from Hargroves Cycles) which meant that one of us could have a sit in occasionally. When we realized Edmondson was gone though, it was like everyone was wanting to ride. We weren’t the most organised but I think everyone just rode hard and at the end it felt no-one in the group had anything left to fight the wind.”
“I felt I had a little bit more and kept pushing on and then there was only three of us, Sam, Moses and me and then Sam popped and me and Moses then rode 100 per cent to the line. I was thinking of the time I could make up but I still think it will be close and I would have liked to have put more time between myself and the rider second before the Tumble tomorrow.”
“Early on, I tried to follow the wheels without making any moves myself but when I saw gaps opening and riders not keen to close them and seeing they had sore legs and I felt alright, I may not be the strongest climber but I have good condition at the moment so was climbing okay.”
Around 15 miles to go and the lead group has split wide open.
“Today was probably the flattest day but with the wind, every little rise felt like a proper climb and normally this stage has been quite easy until the last few K but today it was brutal, absolutely brutal. Moses is always ready to have a dig and he was probably one of the most active and Owain Doull, he was suffering but also putting in the moves he spent a lot of time in the wind which was good for me because I could sit back a bit. Sam Harrison was giving it some at the end too. I think the gaps though were more because of tired legs than the attacking.”
Tom Moses (3rd overall): “Yesterday I didn’t feel great and was sluggish because I wasn’t aggressive. Because of that I got nowhere and lost four minutes. So today I thought I have got to go for it and hit it hard from the start. I was in both the early moves and it worked out for me. I’m going for stages but I might also be able to go for a good place overall as well. It may not be possible to win it but maybe the podium.”
“I knew coming up the last climb, if I didn’t get rid of Dan he was going to beat me in the sprint because, he’s Dan Mclay. So I had a dig on the climb and tried to drop him but didn’t have the legs. So I carried on working 100 per cent. In the sprint, with 200 metres ago and you’re about to sprint against Dan McLay, I had no confidence at all! I thought, I’ll take a run at him and see what happens. I hit him at full speed and got alongside and then he decided to try a bit and just rode away from me!”
Sam Harrison attacks the lead group halfway through the stage.
Sam Harrison drives the break on stage 3 on the morning of day 2.
Joshua Edmondson attacks Dan McLay during stage 3.
After 15 miles, a large group is coming together at the front of the race.
Stage 4
1. Daniel McLay HAR 1:53:19
2. Tom Moses GLN 1:53:21
3. Jamie Shirlaw 1:54:02
4. Oliver Rossi LRJ 1:54:24
5. Owain Doull HAR 1:54:24
6. Matthew Holmes TWC 1:54:25
7. Sam Harrison WAL 1:54:30
8. Adam Yates MAX 1:55:43
9. Jonny Knox HLW1:56:42
10. Tom Stockdale QOR 1:57:30
Overall after Stage 4
1. Daniel McLay HAR 4:47:15
2. Sam Harrison WAL 4:48:39
3. Tom Moses GLN 4:49:47
4. Matthew Holmes TWC 4:50:27
5. Oliver Rossi LRJ 4:50:36
6. Jamie Shirlaw HLW 4:50:41
7. Owain Doull HAR 4:50:52
8. Adam Yates MAX 4:51:14
9. Simon Yates MAX 4:51:30
10. Conor Dunne GLN 4:52:48
