Irish road race and time trial champion Ryan Mullen scooped his first big international win as a pro on Wednesday, winning the race against the clock in the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina.
The 23-year-old Trek-Segafredo rider covered the 14.4km distance in 17 minutes 43 seconds, beating the Italian, Filippo Ganna (UAE Team Emirates), by 25 seconds, and both Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) and Greg Daniel (Trek-Segafredo) by 30.
“I am super happy, and everyone here is super happy; it’s nice to get the ball rolling and get a first win of the year in my first race,” he said. “I have always been the guy who has been second, third fifth, so yeah, it’s my first international win.”
Near misses
One of Mullen’s near misses in the past was his runner-up slot in the world under-23 time trial championships in 2014. He was 0.48 seconds off gold there, and went close to big results since. Netting the win is a big confidence booster for him, and should lead to more success this season.
In November he told The Irish Times that he believed his move to Trek-Segafredo would lead to significant speed improvements due to what he said was better and more aerodynamic equipment.
Past world and current European individual pursuit champion Ganna was better positioned overall starting the stage and now inherits the race lead from stage 2 winner Roman Villalobos (Canel’s Specialized). Mullen is 58th overall, 2 minutes and 20 seconds back.
