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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
M DONNELLY JUNIOR TOUR: BRITISH WIN STAGE, DUTCH TAKE YELLOW
By Tommy Campbell, Pictures Peter Purfield
16 Jul 2005,
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In the Mall in Castlebar is a former chapel whose foundation stone was laid by John Wesley in 1785. Michael Davitt founded the epoch making Land League in the Imperial Hotel on the 16th of August 1879.
Joey Bestebreurje from Antwerp simply out manoeuvred the opposition to move ahead in the standings to the top of the leader board and now has a comfortable lead on his closest challengers to land the spoils of victory in the 28th edition of the Junior Tour.
Even before yesterday's start, there was surprise that stage two winner, Maurice O'Brien of the Kanturk Credit Union CC had pulled out. Prior to the event, questions were being asked, why, O'Brien was an absentee from the Irish team, but Irish team manager, Martin O'Loughlin, revealed all. "It was never the intention that Maurice would finish the tour. He is off to Italy next week."
The penultimate stage of the Martin Donnelly Junior Tour turned out to be a real cracker yesterday with the top six on general classification all delicately balanced for a make or break effort to win the event outright.
Overnight leader, Adam Armstrong held pole position, but the real threat was from the Dutch pair of Willem Schwaner, Joey Bestebreurje and of course Martin Munroe who was dislodged from the top placing on Friday evening. Both representing Ireland, but with different agendas which was plain to see from last Thursday's tactics on the stage into Cong and renewed again on Friday.
The roads that the JT has criss-crossed Co. Mayo in the last five days were relatively hard and yesterday it was no different, but the sting in the tail came at the very end when the competitors had to ascend the 'Windy Gap' after 68 miles of a hard slog with the wind not often in their favour.
The route took the Martin Donnelly competitors through, Newport, Mulranny, Ballycroy, Bangor Erris, Bellacorick, Crossmolina, Lahardane to the finish on the 'Windy Gap', which was unique. Say! A touch of the Tour de France finishes in the mountains and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that someday at least a couple of these youngsters may experience action in the TdF.
From the outset of the stage start, there were several forays out front, but they all came to nothing, because of the vigilance of the Irish team in particular who were misfortunate to lose the services of Fergus Keogh who was a non-starter. Despite this set back the Irish team were represented when the main break developed on the road between Mulranny and Ballycroy.
A regular in the breaks all week was Urban Monks of the Down team was included with Shaun Rock of Ireland, David Mulholland of Ulster, South Africans, Wouter Staats and Frank J. van Vuuren, The Dutch trio of Michael Robinson, Jooste Henning and the danger man Joey Bestebreurje and the British Cycling pair, Jonathan Bellis of (NW) and Adam Kenway (WM).
The 10-man group quickly set into a pattern of racing and opened a fair time gap. Unfortunately, Henning, Rock, Staats and Mulholland lost their place at the top of the race and slipped out of contention. The lead group now had the advantage and as such they caused a big reshuffle of the leader board. Sensing this, Munroe and Armstrong made very effort to nullify the lead along with others who also saw their advantage on GC being eroded, but on the day it was not to be.
Going through Crossmolina the advantage was over two minutes, but in the end it was whittled back to 40 seconds, but by then the dye had been cast for Armstrong and Co.
At the start of the climb Bellis made what proved to be his moment of glory when he clipped off the front and the summit he had a 19 second advantage on the new leader of the JT Bestebreurje. Interestingly Bellis crashed out of the race in Tramore last year and has more or less set his stall out to win a stage in the in this years JT.
Today's stage is relatively flat and should cause no problems in particular to Bestebreurje who has a strong team.
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| Jonathan Bellis of the British Cycling NW team won the mountain top finish at Windy Gap today |
Martin Donnelly Junior Tour
Stage 5-Castlebar/Windy Gap, 68 miles (sponsored by Leinster Cycling)
1 Jonathan Bellis (British Cycling NW), 2hrs.57mins.02secs;
2 J. Bestebreurtje (BMV Veldhoven), @19secs;
3 P. Henning (BMV Veldhoven), same time;
4 D. Dyllan (Wales), @27secs;
5 R. McLoughlin (McNally Swords), same time;
6 A. Bonser (British Cycling NW), @34;
7 S. Sowela (South Africa), same time;
8 T. Diggle (British Cycling NW), @39;
9 W. Schwaner (BMV Veldhoven), same time;
10 C. Cassidy (Navan/Avonmore CC), st.
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| The Podium after stage 5 |
Overall after 5 stages:
1 Bestebreurtje, 10.53.46;
2 Schwaner, @14secs;
3 Cassidy, @17;
4 A. Armstrong (Ireland), @21;
5 Diggle, @32;
6 Bellis, same time;
7 Munroe, @51;
8 M. Murray (Ulster), @1.16;
9 R. McLoughlin (McNally Swords), @1.24;
10 U. Monks, (Down), @1.35.
Points: Bestebreirtje.
Mountains: D. Minne (South Africa).
1st Year Junior: Diggle.
Team: BMV Veldhoven.
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| Armstrong leading the bunch early on |
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| The two leaders with 400 meters uphill to the finish |
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| The breakaway with the new race leader wearing the green jersey here |
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| Armstrong finishing |
Pictures were taken by Peter Purfield, More pictures from all the stages will be added on this website in the next few days.
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