Darren Rafferty remained a strong ninth overall in the Giro Next Gen on Tuesday, finishing in the main bunch in what was a big sprint to the line.
The mainly flat 146-kilometre stage to Magenta featured a long-distance breakaway move by five riders that built a lead of almost eight minutes before eventually being reeled in with less than five kilometres remaining.
American rider Luke Lamperti (Trinity Racing) won the bunch sprint ahead of the Italian Albert Bruttomesso (Cycling Team Friuli ASD) and 127 others. Rafferty didn’t dispute the sprint, rolling in halfway back. He went close to a top-three finish on Monday, being in a breakaway until the final kilometre, and focused on replenishing his energy on Tuesday.
The Belgian rider Alec Segaert (Lotto Dstny Development Team) continues to lead overall. Rafferty is 22 seconds back, and the best placed of his Hagens Berman Axeon team.
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Wednesday’s stage will be a crucial one for the general classification, taking the riders 119 kilometres from Morbegno to the top of the Passo dello Stelvio climb. At 2,757 metres above sea level, altitude will be a significant factor in the result.
Rafferty did a three-week training camp at altitude in Sierra Nevada in May and is hoping to perform well on what is one of cycling’s most famous climbs.
The Giro Next Gen is the under-23 version of the Giro d’Italia and one of the most important races of the year for riders in that age group. Rafferty is just 19 years of age and in his second year out of the junior ranks.
Meanwhile, former An Post Seán Kelly team rider Ronan McLaughlin made significant improvements to the Mizen to Malin record on Sunday. The Donegal rider completed the 568-kilometre distance in a time of 15 hours, 30 minutes, considerably quicker than the 17 hours, 20 minutes of the previous record-holder Seán Herron in 2021.
The achievement adds to the Derry to Dublin record which McLaughlin took last September. On that occasion he covered 229 kilometres in 5 hours, 14 minutes, beating a mark which had stood for 58 years.
McLaughlin is also the world record holder for Everesting, where cyclists attempt to scale the equivalent height of Mount Everest in the shortest possible time. McLaughlin achieved that with multiple ascents of the Mamore Gap over a period of 6 hours 40 minutes.
