ASTELLAS ONCOLOGY CYCLING TEAM

The Astellas Oncology Cycling Team was expecting the worst weather they had raced in all season when they came to Ireland. They were understandably ecstatic that the first stage was far from it. A warm(for Ireland) 55 degrees had them really looking forward to a change from the US scene and they were ready to go.  
 
After a ceremonial start with a couple of thousand spectators looking on, the flag went down and the racing started with a 130km opening stage. Matt made the break of the day but it could have been any of the guys. All were positioned well and racing hard. That escape of 20 guys was caught 50km out from the finish. With the peloton expecting a bunch sprint they ignored an attack of 2 with 20km to go. It made it to the finish with Conor Dunne (Ireland) taking the win and the jersey. They guys made it safely in the bunch. Seven more days of hard racing to go.  
 
The 160km stage 2 was lit right from the go. The Belgian National Team and An Post assembled at the front as we were expecting a cross wind. A group of 12 made it off the front. Again Matt was the Astellas rep in the break. He took 3rd in the bonus sprint before the break was swallowed up. With attacks going constantly after the break was caught, a big split formed that included Ryan, Jake and Coulton, and the group held it to the finish. Ryan took 25th on the stage with Jake and Coulton conserving for the big days that lay ahead. Sadly the team car was relegated to last spot for helping Matt back to the bunch after a flat. With the narrow roads and technical stage 3 the boys prepared to be totally self sufficient for the following days.  
 
Stage 3 was relatively uneventful in terms of the overall classification. A group sprint with 140 guys was on the cards after an early split on the first categorized climb failed to work together. Sam Bennett of An-Post (the race;s title sponsor) was the victor. Matt and Ryan were held behind a crash at 300meters to go and they best either could that was top 30.  
 
Wednesday saw stage 4: The Queen stage. A term used in cycling stage racing to highlight the toughest day of racing. With 8 categorized climbs, on narrow roads with tricky descents and crosswinds the overall classification would depend heavily on this day. After 14km a group of over 25 guys made an escape with no Astellas riders. Jake and Coulton very nearly bridged a 3 min gap to the leaders but it was in vain. As they were caught the Belgian National team rode hard on the front with Matt, Ryan and Jake. Coulton was beginning to become a little sick at this point so it was really important for him to conserve energy for the climbs. The gap was closed and as the racing became wide open again it was a battle of attrition over the climbs. The boys had made on critical error before the start of the biggest climb of the day and started too far back. Jake still made it over Healy Pass in the top 20 with Matt and Coulton just behind. The descent would see Matt's tour end after a heavy crash. Jake and Coulton joined forces on the run into the finish but were unable to catch the front of the race. Sadly, Astellas would be on the back foot from there.  
 
Stage 5 was another relatively uneventful in terms of the overall classification. Again much like on stage 3 there was a small group of riders who broke away on the windy day. They battled a lot of head and cross winds as the field was controlled by the UK Youth Cycling Team who held the overall lead. Another big field sprint would be on order for the day with a Belgium rider taking top honors.  
 
Stage 6 was another windy day. This time Astellas put a rider into the breakaway. Jake rode in the break of 5 till he halfway sprints before he was briefly on his own before being joined by two new riders. The gap went out again as the hit the climbs of the day. Jake took the win over 4 of the 5 climbs on the day before the much smaller peleton caught back up with 20kms to go. Ryan was able to finish off the day's effort by sprinting for a 10 place finish while Jake and Coulton finishing safely in the front group.  
 
Stage 7 brought another high mountain stage. Again Astellas had a rider in the early move, this time with Coulton. Coulton had a great ride up front and was 2 minutes in front of the field before the bigger climbs approached. A bit of bad luck stopped by as he ended up getting a puncture and with riders being dropped on the climbs he had a bit of wait before he could get a new wheel. Jake was able to go over the two Category 1 climbs with the leaders and finished off the race in the small front group of 30 riders.  
 
The last day Astellas again was being aggressive trying to put a rider in the break. Jake and Ryan both tried hard to be in that break, but it wasn't meant to be and another small group opened up a gap as the field sat up to take a nature break. The break would be reeled in on the last of the closing circuits. A crash in the front of the field before the last climb of the race held up the Astellas boys who would end up finishing just 10 seconds behind the leading bunch of 20. Jake ended up being the top placed overall rider and finished off 22nd overall out of the 184 starters.

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