Darren Rafferty finishes a superb second overall in under 23 Giro d’Italia

Darren Rafferty sealed second place overall in the Giro Next Gen on Sunday, completing a brilliant performance in the prestigious under-23 event.

The Dungannon rider finished alongside race leader Johannes Staune-Mittet (Jumbo-Visma Development Team) on the final stage, crossing the line ten seconds behind breakaway riders Anders Foldager (Biesse-Carrera) and Luca Cretti (Team Colpack Ballan).

Rafferty ended the eight-day race 47 seconds behind Staune-Mittet and one minute 15 ahead of the rider in third place, Hannes Wilksch (Tudor Pro Cycling). It is the first time in the race’s 46-edition history that an Irish rider finished on the final podium.

The campaign began last Sunday when Rafferty finished a solid 12th in the opening time trial in Agliè. He jumped up to second overall with a super third place finish on stage 4, which took the riders up the famed Passo dello Stelvio to finish 2757 metres above sea level.

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The Hagens Berman Axeon rider then defended his position on the following four stages, including Saturday’s hilly race to the Pian del Cansiglio. In addition to his second place overall, he was second in the combination classification and third overall in the King of the Mountains competition.

Rafferty is still just 19 years of age, a year and a half younger than the race winner. His performance in the Giro Next Gen, the under 23 version of the Giro d’Italia, dramatically increase the odds of him landing a major pro contract for 2024.

In France, Rás Tailteann winner Dillon Corkery performed strongly in the 2.2-ranked Tour du Pays de Montbéliard. He was sixth in the prologue on Friday, 16th on Saturday’s stage to Colombier-Fontaine and then seventh on Sunday’s final leg in Dampierre-les-Bois. That saw him finish the 2.2-ranked race fifth overall, 18 seconds behind the race winner Sten Van Gucht (Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme).

In Belgium, Rory Townsend showed strong form in advance of the defence of his National Road Race Championships title next Sunday, taking 16th overall in the Baloise Belgium Tour. The 27-year-old’s best placing was seventh on Thursday’s second stage.

In Switzerland, Megan Armitage is 57th overall after two stages of the Tour de Suisse Women. She was 55th on Saturday’s opening leg to Weinfelden, then 47th in Sunday’s individual time trial to Abtwil. The WorldTour event continues on Monday with a hilly stage to Ebnat-Kappel, and concludes on Tuesday.