Archie Ryan retains best young rider lead in Tour of Slovakia

Following on from his superb stage victory on Thursday, Archie Ryan continued to ride strongly in the Tour of Slovakia on Friday, being part of a strong Jumbo-Visma team effort which resulted in the squad’s second stage win in two days.

Dutchman Koen Bouwman triumphed for the team, winning a 58-rider sprint to the line. Ryan rode strongly during the stage and helped chase down a dangerous breakaway in the closing kilometres, helping to set Bouwman up for his success.

The time bonus gained by his team-mate for his win bumped Ryan down one place from fourth to fifth overall. However the Co Wicklow rider remains 10 seconds behind the overall leader Josef Cerny (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl). He is seven seconds off a podium place.

Ryan raced the stage in the white jersey of the best young rider and retains the lead in that competition heading into Saturday’s final stage. He is seven seconds clear of the second-placed under-23 rider, the Spaniard Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).

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The final stage takes the riders 182.1 kilometres from Levoča to Košice. It is hilly early on but much flatter from the halfway point, something Ryan will rue. He is a climbing specialist and would have preferred a more hilly finale to the 2.1-ranked race.

However, he has already greatly impressed the Jumbo-Visma WorldTour team and boosted his chances of getting a contract in the future with the Tour de France-winning squad. He currently competes with its under-23 development team.