MARTIN DONNELLY JUNIOR TOUR 2007 - Stage 2

Westport to Westport

M DONNELLY JUNIOR TOUR: STAGE 2 REPORT By Tommy Campbell Irish Independent, Evening Herald, Sunday Independent Jul 11, 2007,   Day Two of the M. Donnelly Junior Tour was a day you could not write a script for! But it was a day to remember for two Dutch competitors, Steven van Leijn who took the stage and Andreas Ponten who goes into yellow. The town of Westport was the scene for the second stage of the M. Donnelly Junior Tour. It is a town steeped in history. It also has the only stately home that is open to the public in the county. Westport House is beautifully furnished with Irish Georgian and Victorian antiques, Waterford Crystal, Chinese hand-painted wallpapers and an outstanding collection of paintings, including a Holy Family by Reubens. Conditions despite being somewhat cloudy, but it was a day for exciting racing. For the first fifteen minutes of racing things rolled along at a respectable pace before groups were anxious to liven up proceedings. In three attempts, Gilles Speirings of team Tempo BMV Veldhoven was quiet active. But, on each occasion the lead was brought to an abrupt halt. Then after 30kms of activity the warning bells started to beat when a group of four livened up the action by going into a minute plus lead. Philip Lavery of Stena-Ireland, Kieran Frend of BC West Midlands, Steven van Leijen of Tempo BMV Veldhoven and Michael Duffy of Kanturk Credit Union CC. Many of the competitors were put to the pin of their collars to remain in the bunch as he went in search of the lead group. At Delphi Florent Boyer of the Usher-Moy/VC la Pomme was in all kinds of trouble mechanically. This dogged the young Frenchman for the next 10kms, before he finally got firing on all cylinders. Fortunately for him the bunch was holding the leaders in the area of one minute. At the second KOM of the day, up front, Philip Lavery had to have a change of machine which unfortunately was to rob him of his due reward. At the Larches KOM, the race was humming with groups forging ahead and it was also the advent of competitors losing touch with the peloton. Going through Tourmakeady after 80kms of racing the lead group was now a dozen and it was noticeable that the Usher-Moy/VC la Pomme had made the junction to the leaders on the road. A truly magnificent performance by any stretch of the imagination and of course we still had the Dutch boy van Leijen still ahead. The finish was a four up affair with van Leijen stealing the win by the narrowest of margins. Thankfully the photo finish camera sufficed all and sundry with the result. Of the eleven competitors in the lead group who crossed the finishing line, only two were Irish. The visitors dominated the proceedings with Mark Heneghan of Stena-Ireland and Michael Duffy of Kanturk Credit Union CC giving the Irish something to cheer about after a stage which started and finished in Westport. The podium after stage 2, Andreas Ponten in yellow - Picture by Seamus Shortall M. Donnelly Junior Tour, stage 2 - Westport/Leenan/Westport 1 Steven van Leijen (Tempo BMV Veldhoven-Holland), 2hrs.51mins.1secs; 2 T. Skunba (Dave Raynor), same time; 3 A. Ponten (Tempo BMV Veldhoven-Holland), st; 4 R. Butler (South Africa), st; 5 T. Delotte, (Usher-Moy/VC la Pomme), st; 6 F. Boyer, (Usher-Moy/VC la Pomme), st; 7 C.O'Shea (Isle of Man), st; 8 M. Heneghan (Ireland-Stenna), st; 9 M. Duffy (Kanturk Credit Union CC), st; 10 G. Spierings (Tempo BMV Veldhoven-Holland), st; Overall after stage 2 1 Ponten, 2.54..53; 2 Butler, @1secs; 3 Boyer, @4; 4 van Leijen, same time; 5 Skuba, @7; 6 Delotte, @10; 7 Spierings, @11; 8 O'Shea, @17; 9 Heneghan, st; 10 Duffy, @25. First Year Junior: Boyer. Points: Ponten. Mountains: Delotte.