Marcin Bialoblocki wins sixth stage and Gediminas Bagdonas takes overall lead in 2011 An Post Ras
Britain Motorpoint team’s Marcin Bialoblocki won the sixth stage of 2011 An Post Ras between Blarney to Tramore on Friday, May 27.
The 27-year-old Marcin took a total of 3 hours, 35 minutes and 55 seconds to cover the distance of 127 kilometres.
Anatoliy Pakhtusov of Ukraine ISD Lampre was runner-up with 5 seconds behind Marcin. Wouter Sybrandy of Britain Sigma Specialised team finished in the third spot, with a difference of 10 seconds, while the race leader, Gediminas Bagdonas, was in the fourteenth
place.
The group of seventeen riders made their first break after a few kilometres from the starting line, including Bagdonas, Oleksander Sheydyk of Ukraine ISD Lampre and Nikolay Mihaylov of France AIX en Provence, went clear.
Sean Downey also took part of the group and the Shane Archbold made his speed and built gap from the peloton. The group of four riders, including Bialoblocki, Pakhtusov, Sybrandy and Australian Lachlann Norris broke free.
However, after a few kilometres, Norris struggled to keep pace with the other three as a punctured-tyre left him behind, while the others went on with the rest of the day's race in one unit.
In the final climb, Bialoblocki made his speed and had good legs, so he crossed the finish-line ahead of other cyclist.
Gediminas Bagdonas retained his overall leader’s yellow jersey with the timing of 23 hours, 59 minutes and 52 seconds. Anatoliy Pakhtusov of Ukraine ISD-Lampre was runner-up with 32 seconds behind Bagdonas.
Oleksandr Sheydyk was in third place with the difference of 1 minute and 13 seconds. Sean Downey of Ireland Skoda team came in 11th place with 3 minutes and 14 seconds behind the leader.
After winning the overall lead Bagdonas told the media, “In the last 30 kilometres, I was alone…everybody was jumping. I was catching them one by one, in the last eight kilometres, Kurt [An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly manager Kurt Bogaerts]
told me I needed to go full gas and go time trial, go hard.”
Shane Archbold won the points classification and Oleksandr Sheydyk won the mountain classification.
The seventh stage will start in Tramore and end in Kildare. All the riders will cover a distance of 161 kilometres.
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