2009 Tour of Ireland
Encyclopedia
The 2009 Tour of Ireland was the 35th running of the Tour of Ireland
stage race. The event was held from 21–23 August. It consisted of three stages, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour
.
UCI ProTour
Teams
UCI Professional Continental Teams
UCI Continental Teams
Pro National Teams
to Waterford
, 196 km
This stage began at the Ritz-Carlton
hotel in Enniskerry
and immediately the peloton set to climbing, with a third-category climb coming after 7 km. The course continued to be hilly after that, marked by the first-category Mount Leinster
climb coming about halfway into the stage. There were two more categorized climbs and a few smaller rises later on.
Many ultimately unsuccessful breakaway attempts occurred in the stage's first hour, including defending mountains champion Matt Wilson
topping the first category three climb in first position. The first escapee to stay away for any amount of time was MTN's Jay Thomson, who was the first over Mount Leinster and Coppanagh, putting him second in the King of the Mountains standings at the end of the day (as Wilson took maximum points from the peloton on those climbs). Thomson badly bonked on the day's last climb, and wound up being passed by escapees from the main peloton. First to pass him by was Philip Lavery
of the Irish National Team, and then came the rest of the 23-man group, one that included numerous big names such as Lance Armstrong
, Stuart O'Grady
, and defending Tour of Ireland champion Marco Pinotti
. With Mark Cavendish
stuck in the peloton 2' 12" behind the leaders, the stage win was wide open. After numerous attacks and counterattacks Russell Downing
was the man to time his sprint just right, getting to the line a second ahead of seven other riders. Armstrong, O'Grady, and twelve others finished 16 seconds back. Time bonuses won at the finish line and in intermediate sprints meant the first General Classification was not the same as the Stage 1 result.
to Killarney
, 196 km
The climbing again began early on this stage, with a second-category climb occurring after 27.5 km. After the descent and one short uncategorized hill, the course was flat until another second-category climb, Musheramore, at the 135 km mark. Immediately after the descent from Musheramore was Curragh
, a climb that was shorter, but steeper, and was categorized higher at first-category.
Mark Cassidy
of An Post–Sean Kelly sprinted out of the bunch immediately after the neutralized section of this stage. He was joined by Rabobank's Dennis Van Winden
, and they were together through the three sprints and the first two climbs on the stage. The peloton was quite willing to let these two get a huge advantage, and their time gap over the main field ballooned to over ten minutes. It was between the third sprint and the last climb that Van Winden attacked and shed Cassidy, who hit the wall and wound up finishing over nine minutes back of the peloton at the finish. Van Winden was caught shortly after the descent from Curragh, but he managed to finish with the peloton, despite having been in a breakaway for 174 of the stage's 196 kilometers. Van Winden won each of the day's climbs and in so doing poised to challenge Matt Wilson
for the King of the Mountains championship, but Wilson took maximum points from the peloton on each climb and finished the day with a 4-point lead. The mass sprint finish took place, with Mark Cavendish
easily outclassing the other sprinters in the field.
Each of the 23 riders who made the selective break in Stage 1 finished with the peloton, meaning race leader Russell Downing
had 22 riders within 26 seconds of him going into the decisive third stage. It was on a stage much like this in the 2008 Tour of Ireland
that Downing lost his race lead, but he expressed confidence after the stage that he would be able to keep it this year, as the finishing circuit in Cork for the 2009 race is shorter than it was in 2008. Team Columbia-HTC made it clear that their focus for Stage 3 would not be Cavendish, who freely admitted the circuit was probably too tough for him, but for defending Tour of Ireland champion Marco Pinotti
, 11 seconds back of Downing.
to Cork
, 185 km
This course defines undulation, with more than a dozen rises in elevation, though only three are categorized. The peloton will take three laps of a finishing circuit in Cork, taking three passes over the first-category St. Patrick's Hill. Uniquely, only the second and third passes over the climb will count toward the climbers' prize, while the first pass is an intermediate sprint.
As was expected, the third stage broke the field up more than either of the first two had. The largest group to cross the line together was the eight riders classified third through tenth, those with the same time as Matti Breschel
. Many riders crossed the line alone, and two members of Team Joker Bianchi
finished almost 21 minutes behind the stage winner. 57 riders also withdrew during the stage (one did not start), including the two the event had most used to promote itself, Lance Armstrong
and Mark Cavendish
.
There was no significant breakaway on the day. Rather, the exact opposite seemed to take place, as riders little by little dropped off the pace of the leading group and either abandoned the race or finished many minutes behind the leaders. The last two together were Lars Petter Nordhaug
and race leader Russell Downing
. Since Downing had the event overall sewn up, Nordhaug took the stage. Downing's performance on this stage marked a significant improvement over the Cork stage from the 2008 Tour, where he, as race leader, was dropped and conceded the final yellow jersey to Marco Pinotti
. On this day, it was Pinotti who was dropped before the finish, finding himself in the first chase group 33 seconds behind Nordhaug and Downing. The climbs were taken by riders who had not yet scored any significant points in that classification, so Matt Wilson
was able to come away with his second consecutive King of the Mountains win.
Tour of Ireland
The Tour of Ireland is a bicycle stage race held in August. The first race debuted in 1953 and ran until 1957. It was revived in 1965 and ran until 1985. In 1985 the 5 day Nissan International Classic took over as the Tour of Ireland. This lasted for 8 years until 1992...
stage race. The event was held from 21–23 August. It consisted of three stages, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour
2008–2009 UCI Europe Tour
The 2008–2009 UCI Europe Tour is the fifth season of the UCI Europe Tour and features many of road bicycle racing history's most popular events. The 2008–2009 season began 19 October 2008 with the Chrono des Nations in France and is scheduled to end 15 October 2009 with the Giro del Piemonte in...
.
Participating teams
The 16 teams that participated in the race were:UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
Teams
- AST -
- SAX -
- THR -
UCI Professional Continental Teams
- BMC -
- CTT -
- ISD -
UCI Continental Teams
- SKT - An Post–Sean Kelly Team
- MTN - MTN EnergadeMTN EnergadeMTN Qhubeka is a continental cycling team based in South Africa that participates in UCI Continental Circuits races. The team was founded in 2007, becoming a Continental Team in 2008.- Major Results :2008...
- HAF - Team Halfords BikehutTeam Halfords BikehutTeam Halfords Bikehut was formed in January 2008 with Dave Brailsford, performance director of British Cycling, the general manager. It had been a pro/national team mooted as the first full British professional women's team but there were men such as Rob Hayles in the group...
- TMB -
- TT1 -
- CTV - CandiTV – Marshall's Pasta
- RCR - Rapha CondorRapha CondorRapha Condor-Sharp are a British UCI Continental cycling team.They were previously Rapha Condor recycling.co.uk following a merger between the recycling.co.uk Pro Cycling Team and the original RaphaCondor team at the end of 2007.-Profile:Rapha Condor is owned by Rapha, a cycling clothing company,...
- RB3 - continental team
Pro National Teams
- Irish National Team
- Australian National Team
Stage 1
21 August 2009 - PowerscourtPowerscourt Estate
Powerscourt Estate , located near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying 19 hectares . The house, originally a 13th century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect...
to Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, 196 km
This stage began at the Ritz-Carlton
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is a brand of luxury hotels and resorts with 75 properties located in major cities and resorts in 24 countries worldwide...
hotel in Enniskerry
Enniskerry
Enniskerry is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It had a population of 2,672 at the 2006 census.- Location :...
and immediately the peloton set to climbing, with a third-category climb coming after 7 km. The course continued to be hilly after that, marked by the first-category Mount Leinster
Mount Leinster
At 796 metres Mount Leinster is the fifth highest mountain after Lugnaquilla 925m, Mullaghcleevaun 849m, Tonelegee 817m, and Cloghernagh 800m, in the province of Leinster, Ireland. It is the highest of the Blackstairs Mountains at 796 metres...
climb coming about halfway into the stage. There were two more categorized climbs and a few smaller rises later on.
Many ultimately unsuccessful breakaway attempts occurred in the stage's first hour, including defending mountains champion Matt Wilson
Matthew Wilson (cyclist)
Matthew "Matt" Wilson is a professional Australian road racing cyclist, for UCI ProTeam . During 2007 he rode as a domestique for the UCI ProTour team Unibet.com. In 2008 and 2009, he rode as a team leader for the US-based Team Type 1.Wilson's talent ensured that he became a part of the Australian...
topping the first category three climb in first position. The first escapee to stay away for any amount of time was MTN's Jay Thomson, who was the first over Mount Leinster and Coppanagh, putting him second in the King of the Mountains standings at the end of the day (as Wilson took maximum points from the peloton on those climbs). Thomson badly bonked on the day's last climb, and wound up being passed by escapees from the main peloton. First to pass him by was Philip Lavery
Philip Lavery
Philip Lavery is an Irish professional racing cyclist, signed with the An Post–Sean Kelly team for the 2011 season...
of the Irish National Team, and then came the rest of the 23-man group, one that included numerous big names such as Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
, Stuart O'Grady
Stuart O'Grady
Stuart O'Grady OAM , nicknamed Stuey, is an Australian professional road bicycle racer on UCI ProTeam , who started as a track cyclist. He and Graeme Brown won a gold medal in Men's Madison at the 2004 Summer Olympics...
, and defending Tour of Ireland champion Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti is an Italian road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Pinotti is a specialist of individual time trial, in which he is a five-time Italian Time Trial Champion ....
. With Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish MBE is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season...
stuck in the peloton 2' 12" behind the leaders, the stage win was wide open. After numerous attacks and counterattacks Russell Downing
Russell Downing
Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing...
was the man to time his sprint just right, getting to the line a second ahead of seven other riders. Armstrong, O'Grady, and twelve others finished 16 seconds back. Time bonuses won at the finish line and in intermediate sprints meant the first General Classification was not the same as the Stage 1 result.
Stage 1 Result
|
General Classification after Stage 1
|
Stage 2
22 August 2009 - ClonmelClonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
to Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
, 196 km
The climbing again began early on this stage, with a second-category climb occurring after 27.5 km. After the descent and one short uncategorized hill, the course was flat until another second-category climb, Musheramore, at the 135 km mark. Immediately after the descent from Musheramore was Curragh
Curragh
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 5,000 acres of common land in County Kildare, Ireland, between Newbridge and Kildare. This area is well-known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the famous Japanese Gardens. Also...
, a climb that was shorter, but steeper, and was categorized higher at first-category.
Mark Cassidy
Mark Cassidy (cyclist)
Mark Cassidy is an Irish professional cyclist who rides for the An Post–Sean Kelly team.-Palmares:2011 - An Post–Sean Kelly Team*10th, Irish National Road Race Championship *40th overall, An Post Rás **15th, Stage 2...
of An Post–Sean Kelly sprinted out of the bunch immediately after the neutralized section of this stage. He was joined by Rabobank's Dennis Van Winden
Dennis van Winden
Dennis van Winden is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank.- Palmarès :200620072008...
, and they were together through the three sprints and the first two climbs on the stage. The peloton was quite willing to let these two get a huge advantage, and their time gap over the main field ballooned to over ten minutes. It was between the third sprint and the last climb that Van Winden attacked and shed Cassidy, who hit the wall and wound up finishing over nine minutes back of the peloton at the finish. Van Winden was caught shortly after the descent from Curragh, but he managed to finish with the peloton, despite having been in a breakaway for 174 of the stage's 196 kilometers. Van Winden won each of the day's climbs and in so doing poised to challenge Matt Wilson
Matthew Wilson (cyclist)
Matthew "Matt" Wilson is a professional Australian road racing cyclist, for UCI ProTeam . During 2007 he rode as a domestique for the UCI ProTour team Unibet.com. In 2008 and 2009, he rode as a team leader for the US-based Team Type 1.Wilson's talent ensured that he became a part of the Australian...
for the King of the Mountains championship, but Wilson took maximum points from the peloton on each climb and finished the day with a 4-point lead. The mass sprint finish took place, with Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish MBE is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season...
easily outclassing the other sprinters in the field.
Each of the 23 riders who made the selective break in Stage 1 finished with the peloton, meaning race leader Russell Downing
Russell Downing
Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing...
had 22 riders within 26 seconds of him going into the decisive third stage. It was on a stage much like this in the 2008 Tour of Ireland
2008 Tour of Ireland
The 2008 Tour of Ireland took place between Wednesday 27 August 2008 to Sunday 31 August 2008.-Stages:-General Classification:-Teams Classification:- Jersey Progress :...
that Downing lost his race lead, but he expressed confidence after the stage that he would be able to keep it this year, as the finishing circuit in Cork for the 2009 race is shorter than it was in 2008. Team Columbia-HTC made it clear that their focus for Stage 3 would not be Cavendish, who freely admitted the circuit was probably too tough for him, but for defending Tour of Ireland champion Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti is an Italian road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Pinotti is a specialist of individual time trial, in which he is a five-time Italian Time Trial Champion ....
, 11 seconds back of Downing.
Stage 2 Result
|
General Classification after Stage 2
|
Stage 3
23 August 2009 - BantryBantry
Bantry is a town on the coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the N71 national secondary road at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for 30 km to the west...
to Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, 185 km
This course defines undulation, with more than a dozen rises in elevation, though only three are categorized. The peloton will take three laps of a finishing circuit in Cork, taking three passes over the first-category St. Patrick's Hill. Uniquely, only the second and third passes over the climb will count toward the climbers' prize, while the first pass is an intermediate sprint.
As was expected, the third stage broke the field up more than either of the first two had. The largest group to cross the line together was the eight riders classified third through tenth, those with the same time as Matti Breschel
Matti Breschel
Matti Breschel is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam .-Career:He got his breakthrough with small Danish Team PH, finishing 6th at the U/23 Cycling World Championship in Verona in 2004 where he helped fellow Dane Mads Christensen finish 3rd...
. Many riders crossed the line alone, and two members of Team Joker Bianchi
Team Joker Bianchi
Joker Merida is a UCI Continental cycling team based in Norway. The team is managed by Birger Hungerholdt with assistance from directeur sportifs Gino van Oudehove and Anders Linnestad.-Major results:2006...
finished almost 21 minutes behind the stage winner. 57 riders also withdrew during the stage (one did not start), including the two the event had most used to promote itself, Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
and Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish
Mark Cavendish MBE is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season...
.
There was no significant breakaway on the day. Rather, the exact opposite seemed to take place, as riders little by little dropped off the pace of the leading group and either abandoned the race or finished many minutes behind the leaders. The last two together were Lars Petter Nordhaug
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Lars Petter Nordhaug is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team .He started his career as a mountain biker, but after finishing 5th in the 2004 Norwegian National Road Racing Championship, his focus changed towards road bicycle racing...
and race leader Russell Downing
Russell Downing
Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing...
. Since Downing had the event overall sewn up, Nordhaug took the stage. Downing's performance on this stage marked a significant improvement over the Cork stage from the 2008 Tour, where he, as race leader, was dropped and conceded the final yellow jersey to Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti is an Italian road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Pinotti is a specialist of individual time trial, in which he is a five-time Italian Time Trial Champion ....
. On this day, it was Pinotti who was dropped before the finish, finding himself in the first chase group 33 seconds behind Nordhaug and Downing. The climbs were taken by riders who had not yet scored any significant points in that classification, so Matt Wilson
Matthew Wilson (cyclist)
Matthew "Matt" Wilson is a professional Australian road racing cyclist, for UCI ProTeam . During 2007 he rode as a domestique for the UCI ProTour team Unibet.com. In 2008 and 2009, he rode as a team leader for the US-based Team Type 1.Wilson's talent ensured that he became a part of the Australian...
was able to come away with his second consecutive King of the Mountains win.
Stage 3 Result
|
Final General Classification
|
Jersey Progression
| Stage (Winner) |
General Classification | Points Classification | Mountains Classification | Young Rider Classification | Team Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 (Russell Downing Russell Downing Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing... ) |
Russell Downing Russell Downing Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing... |
Russell Downing Russell Downing Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing... |
Matt Wilson Matthew Wilson (cyclist) Matthew "Matt" Wilson is a professional Australian road racing cyclist, for UCI ProTeam . During 2007 he rode as a domestique for the UCI ProTour team Unibet.com. In 2008 and 2009, he rode as a team leader for the US-based Team Type 1.Wilson's talent ensured that he became a part of the Australian... |
Matti Breschel Matti Breschel Matti Breschel is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam .-Career:He got his breakthrough with small Danish Team PH, finishing 6th at the U/23 Cycling World Championship in Verona in 2004 where he helped fellow Dane Mads Christensen finish 3rd... |
Team Saxo Bank |
| Stage 2 (Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish MBE is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam until the end of this season when the team is dissolved. He will join Team Sky at the start of the 2012 season... ) |
Alexander Kristoff Alexander Kristoff Alexander Kristoff is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer with the UCI ProTeam .At nine, he moved from Oslo to Stavanger. His stepfather interested him in cycling rather than football. He started riding for Stavanger SK. At 16 he won the Norwegian youth championship, and finished fourth in... |
||||
| Stage 3 (Lars Petter Nordhaug Lars Petter Nordhaug Lars Petter Nordhaug is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team .He started his career as a mountain biker, but after finishing 5th in the 2004 Norwegian National Road Racing Championship, his focus changed towards road bicycle racing... ) |
Russell Downing Russell Downing Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing... |
||||
| Final |
Russell Downing Russell Downing Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing... (Candi TV) |
Russell Downing Russell Downing Russell Downing is an English cycling road-racer for UCI ProTour team . He was the British national road race champion in 2005. He is the younger brother of fellow cyclist Dean Downing... (Candi TV) |
Matt Wilson Matthew Wilson (cyclist) Matthew "Matt" Wilson is a professional Australian road racing cyclist, for UCI ProTeam . During 2007 he rode as a domestique for the UCI ProTour team Unibet.com. In 2008 and 2009, he rode as a team leader for the US-based Team Type 1.Wilson's talent ensured that he became a part of the Australian... (Team Type 1) |
Matti Breschel Matti Breschel Matti Breschel is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam .-Career:He got his breakthrough with small Danish Team PH, finishing 6th at the U/23 Cycling World Championship in Verona in 2004 where he helped fellow Dane Mads Christensen finish 3rd... (Team Saxo Bank) |
Team Saxo Bank |