Ronan O’Connor celebrates 23rd birthday with superb second place on Stage 2 of Tour of Romania – moves into second overall.
Ronan O’Connor, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery, marked his 23rd birthday in style on Stage 2 of the Tour of Romania (2.2), finishing second after a long, aggressive ride that saw him go clear of the break and force a two-up sprint for the win.
The result also lifts him to second place on the general classification.
The 147.2 km stage from Iași to Piatra Neamț featured 1,593 metres of climbing. It was decided by a late move from the breakaway that the peloton could not fully close.
Nothing more i could have done there. he definately had the better sprint.
Ronan O’Connor, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery
Seasoned Belgian professional Rutger Wouters, K.O.F.M. x Thielemans – Bildin – Van Eyck Sport Cycling Team, a former Belgian National Champion (Elite without Contract) with over 100 victories on his palmarès, took the stage win in a sprint à deux.
O’Connor finished just three seconds back, with a nine-rider chase group coming in 13 seconds later.
Race action
Early on, the break formed and picked up intermediate sprint and mountain points. On the steep climb to Jigorrni, O’Connor and Valerii Shtin bridged across to the front group.
Intermediate sprints were contested, with Wouters taking one in Roman after 104 km while the gap to the peloton sat around a minute.
With the race still fluid in the final 30 – 40 km, O’Connor launched a decisive attack from the break, leaving his companions behind. Wouters later bridged across to the birthday-boy, and the pair held a small but stubborn advantage into the closing kilometres.
With 15 km to go the duo were still clear while the peloton fragmented behind. At 10 km and then 6 km remaining they still held roughly 10 seconds on a nine-man chase.
The gap was so close, we knew we’d have to go full gas to the finish. So I have to be happy with that.
Ronan O’Connor, APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery
Wouters proved the stronger in the final sprint to take the stage, while O’Connor secured an excellent second place and valuable UCI points.
Wouters’ victory also propelled him into the overall race lead (he had been 34th overnight and jumped 33 places). O’Connor moves up to second on GC behind the experienced Belgian. Average speed for the winner was 42.67 km/h.
GC ambitions
O’Connor’s performance continues a solid start to the race for the APS Pro Cycling by Team Cadence Cyclery squad. On Stage 1 he and teammate Matthew Walls both finished safely in the front group after Walls had spent time up the road.
Stage 2 delivered the standout result so far for the Irish contingent, with O’Connor’s aggressive racing, podium finish and strong GC position the clear highlight on his birthday. A tougher 2nd stage for Mathew Walls, rolling in 12:24 after his teammate.
An attritional race so far with the peloton already down to just 87 riders from the 119 that started Stage 1!
The five-day Tour of Romania continues with more challenging terrain ahead before the race concludes in Bucharest on Sunday. O’Connor and the APS team will look to build on this strong showing in the stages to come.
Irish APS riders are no strangers to racing in Romania, with Conn McDunphy having won a stage of the 2024 Tour of Szeklerland.
