CYCLING: AS EXPECTED, Irish professional Daniel Martin displayed strong form on yesterday's first hilly stage of the Tour of Poland, showing he has recovered from the tendonitis that prevented him from starting this year's Tour de France.
Martin finished 10th on the stage, coming home with a 36-man chasing pack 15 seconds behind a six-man breakaway group. Alessandro Ballan (Lampre NGC) took his first victory since becoming world champion last September, outsprinting Daniel Moreno (Caisse d’Epargne) and Pieter Weening (Rabobank) to the line in Krynica-Zdrój.
Ballan forged the winning move on the hilly run-in towards the finish, then combined with the other five in pulling out a decisive lead. He took over the race leader’s jersey and will start today’s tough penultimate stage four seconds clear of Moreno.
Martin is 28th overall, 25 seconds back, but should move further up the general classification on the mountainous 162.2 kilometre leg to Zakopane.
Elsewhere in Europe, fellow professional Philip Deignan began his own move up the general classification when he finished 27th on the second stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. Yesterday’s race saw the riders cross four category-three climbs, including the final ascent to the finish at Miranda de Ebro.
Joaquim Rodríguez (Caisse d’Epargne) beat Ben Hermans (Topsport) and his team-mate Alejandro Valverde in the gallop to the line; Deignan finished 25 seconds back. Rodríguez also took over the leader’s jersey from Koldo Fernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi).
Deignan moves up from 61st to 25th overall and will aim to ride strongly on Sunday’s gruelling final stage, which concludes with a summit finish at Lagunos de Neila. Before then, there are two flatter stages, including today’s 175 kilometre leg to Burgos.
Deignan did not take part in the Tour de France and is building form after a break in racing. One of his aims will be to ride well in the Tour of Ireland, which begins in two weeks’ time in Powerscourt.
The Letterkenny rider was confirmed as part of the Cervélo Test Team yesterday, while world time-trial champion Bert Grabsch and former Paris-Roubaix winner Stuart O’Grady were named in the Columbia HTC and Saxo Bank squads. Grabsch will join last year’s winner Marco Pinotti and 10-time Tour de France stage victor Mark Cavendish on the team, which will also feature Kanstantin Sivtsov and Frantisek Rabon, who won the St Patrick’s Hill stage in Cork last year.
Saxo Bank will also feature the recent Tour of Denmark victor Jakob Fuglsang, likely to be a strong contender, as well as former Tour of Ireland stage winner Matti Breschel and GC contender Alexandr Kolobnev.
Cervélo’s line-up will also include the in-form Roger Hammond and Jeremy Hunt.
Finally, a number of Irish riders had a strong showing in the European Master’s championship last week. Best results were Simon Coughlan’s repeat victory in the three-kilometre individual pursuit and Terry Cromer’s silver medal in the standing start 500 metres.
TOUR OF IRELAND(confirmed team line-ups): Cervélo Test Team: Philip Deignan, Jeremy Hunt, Davide Appollonio, Dan Fleeman, Daniel Lloyd, Roger Hammond, Martin Reimer. Columbia HTC team: Marco Pinotti, Mark Cavendish, Bert Grabsch, Greg Henderson, Frantisek Rabon, Vincente Reynes, Kanstantin Sivtsov. Saxo Bank team: Stuart O'Grady, Alexandr Kolobnev, Jonathan Bellis, Kurt Asle Arvesen, Karsten Kroon, Matti Breschel, Jakob Fuglsang.
Fixtures: Today: Lurgan criterium, starts 7pm. Saturday-Sunday: Ballinrobe 2 Day, call 087 7992857 for details. Sunday: Tour of Armagh, Lurgan. Starts noon; IVCA DMS, Kenstown. Starts 9.15; Swords Grand Prix, Ballyboughal. Starts 1pm. Monday: Interclub youth league MTB race, Ballinastoe, 7.15pm.
