Matt Teggart has clearly bounced back after being forced out of racing last weekend with a knee niggle; the Irish rider spending much of today’s stage 3 at Estivale Bretonne in France as virtual yellow jersey.
While the breakaway Teggart was in was eventually caught, the Irishman still took 6th on the challenging uphill finish. Irish elite TT champion, Conn McDunphy, is also riding the four-day race and is giving a very good account of himself, sitting 20th with three stages completed.
Today’s stage 3 was 136.5km from Guerlesquin to
Plouigneau, with Teggart taking the initiative early in a bid to put race
leader and French U23 international Louis Barré (UC Nantes-Atlantique) under
pressure.
After getting clear in the breakaway, Teggart and his fellow escapees spent some 90km with an advantage of over two minutes on the peloton. That meant he was virtual race leader as he had started the stage 12th overall at 1:18.
However, with seven laps of a finishing circuit to
conclude the stage, and with the final kilometre of each lap featuring a hard
climb, the breakaway was gradually pegged back until it was caught with about
20km to go.
While that might have been expected to spell the end of
Teggart’s impact on the front of the race, he went on to ride a great finale despite
having been on the attack for most of the day.
On the final lap three riders jumped clear of the peloton and went on to fill the stage podium; the victory going to Johan Le Bon (Team Pays De Dinan). Behind the three leaders, the main field fractured up the climb to the finish line, with Teggart taking 6th on the stage; one of 11 riders 15 seconds down on the winner.
With just one stage remaining tomorrow the 25-year-old Irishman is now 11th overall, some 1:29 down on new race leader Le Bon. Teggart is also just two points off the climbers’ jersey going into tomorrow’s 135.5km stage starting and finishing in Loudeac.
Teggart’s compatriot Conn McDunphy (CC Nogent-sur-Oise) finished in 36th place today, some 26 seconds down on the stage winner, and he is now 20th overall at 1:40.
Friday’s opening stage was 131.1km into Grand Champs, Brittany, with Teggart placing 8th. Victory went to his VC Villefranche Beaujolais team mate, Belgian Sten Van Gucht.
Teggart was part of a 120-rider group sprinting for 5th just seven seconds behind four breakaway riders, with McDunphy in the same group and placing 38th on the stage.
Yesterday’s stage 2 took the riders 137.2km from Scrignac to Pouallouen, with the field splitting. Again a breakaway group stayed clear to fight for stage honours, claimed by Louis Barré (UC Nantes-Atlantique).
Teggart and McDunphy were both in an eight-rider chasing group, some 1:18 down on the stage winner. Teggart won the sprint from that chasing group for 10th place on the stage, with McDunphy placing 16th.
