Jamie Meehan takes his first stage race podium of his pro career
Mountcharles native Jamie Meehan's pro cycling career took another big step forward with his first ever podium finish when he finished 3rd overall in the prestigious Tour de l'Ain.
Meehan, who is attached the Cofidis team, started the final stage with a great chance of a podium finish and he did not disappoint.
With 3,000m of climbing on the 132km stage 3 from Oyonnax to Lélex Monts-Jura, Meehan was one of the strongest.
He attacked on the final climb in bid to get away from the select group, only to be closed down by race leader, and eventual winner, Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost).
And when that effort did not work, Meehan tried again on the descent, and for a third time on the approach to the finish.
With 2km to go, and the select group down to nine riders, Jefferson Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) lit it up with a strong attack and managed to gain a gap of 5-10 seconds.
However, just when it looked like he was racing away to stage victory, some of the more inexperienced riders in the group closed him down. Meehan sat close to the back of the group, biding his time.
The Irish rider then attacked hard on an incline just inside the 400m to go barrier. And though he gapped his rivals a little, they did not delay in closing him down.
As they did so, the sprint from the group began, with former Cofidis rider Axel Mariault (CIC Pro Cycling Academy) winning. Beloki was 2nd, and Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ United) 3rd, with Meehan next, in 4th place.
There was 52 seconds between the winner and runner-up in the general classification, with Meehan placing 3rd overall at 55 seconds.
That seals the Irish rider's first general classification podium since he signed for Cofidis midway through last season, though he placed 4th overall at La Route d'Occitanie-CIC (2.1) last month.
Tour de l'Ain (2.1) - Stage 3 - Oyonnax › Lélex Monts-Jura
Rnk Rider Team Time
1 MARIAULT Axel CIC Pro Cycling Academy 3:26:32.000
2 BELOKI Markel EF Education - EasyPost 0:00.000
3 ROLLAND Brieuc Groupama - FDJ United 0:00.000
4 MEEHAN Jamie Cofidis 0:00.000
5 ARSAC Rémi Decathlon CMA CGM Team 0:00.000
6 CONCI Nicola XDS Astana Team 0:00.000
7 BRAVO Henrique Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team 0:00.000
8 BUCK JONES Huw Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme 0:06.000
9 CEPEDA Jefferson Alexander EF Education - EasyPost 0:06.000
10 GACHIGNARD Thomas TotalEnergies 0:57.000
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
Rnk Rider Team Time
1 BELOKI Markel EF Education - EasyPost 10:46:15.000
2 MARIAULT Axel CIC Pro Cycling Academy 0:52.000
3 MEEHAN Jamie Cofidis 0:55.000