CYCLING

Kiwi cyclists remain in contention in RAS Tour of Ireland

By Cycling New Zealand


New Zealand track rider Nick Kergozou from Invercargill leads
the peloton on stage six of the An Post RAS Tour of Ireland today.
Credit: Paul Mohan Sportsfile


New Zealand riders Aaron Gate and Alex Frame both finished in the peloton to remain in contention on stage six of the An Post RAS Tour of Ireland today.

The Kiwis are part of Cycling New Zealand track squad who are competing in road racing in preparation for the summer track season to be highlighted by the UCI World Cup in Cambridge in December.

Gate retained his lead for the sprint points green jersey, on countback from Austria’s Lukas Postlberger who maintains his 1min 05sec lead on general classification.

A break of 10 riders stayed clear of the pack throughout the sixth and longest stage of 160km to Ballinamore with three category climbs to contend including the tour’s longest climb of over 10kms.

While Great Britain’s Ian Bibby took the overall honours, all the main players finished in the peloton who crossed the line 2:18 back, including Gate, Frame and compatriot Nick Bain, with the other New Zealand team members Nick Kergozou and Luke Mudgeway a further 25 seconds behind in the second bunch although veteran Marc Ryan withdrew today with a shin injury.

Gate, who rides for the An Post Chain Reaction UCI Continental team, remains in fifth place overall 4:32 behind Postlberger with Frame seventh at 7:34 and Bain 16th at 13:51. Frame remains third on general classification in the young rider category with Bain fifth.

Gate, the 2013 omnium world champion on the track, is on 50 points with Postlberger in the battle for the green jersey with Frame on 40 in fourth.

Tomorrow’s seven stage is 142km from Ballinamore across to the east coast to Drogheda with three categorised climbs, with the final stage down to the regular finish in Skerries near Dublin on Monday (NZ time).