The New Zealand cyclists Aaron Gate and Alex Frame finished first and second on day two of the Tour of Ireland.
The New Zealand cyclist Aaron Gate competing. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Gate, riding for his An Post Chain Reaction continental team, outsprinted compatriot Frame for the stage victory in the town of Gort near Galway in the west of Ireland.
The pair form part of the Cycling New Zealand endurance track cycling team racing on the roads in Europe as part of their preparation for the summer track season which will be highlighted with the World Cup in Cambridge in December.
The second stage of 158 kms from Kilkenny to Gort included five category three climbs, with a three-strong break building a six minute advantage before Bryan McCrystal (Team Asea), who had driven the break, pushed clear in a solo effort.
He had a 4 minute 20 second lead with 30 kms to go and three minutes with 14 kms left before the peloton, driven in part by the New Zealand team, ramped things up with the leader caught with 5 km remaining.
Gate, the 2013 omnium world champion, got the best run in the wet conditions to out-sprint Frame, the world champion in the team pursuit, in the sprint finish.
Gate won in 3:29:26 from Frame at the head of the 28-strong peloton including fellow New Zealand team member Nick Bain, all given the same time as the winner, while Southland's Nick Kergozou headed the second bunch.
Gate is 15th overall, though third in the points race, Austrian Lukas Postlberger has the leaders yellow jersey.
Frame is fourth in the race for the points while Bain is the best of the New Zealand team riders on general classification in 22nd place, 5:07 down on the leader, and seventh in the youth rider category.
The Tour of Ireland finishes in Skerries near Dublin on Monday (NZ time).