One week removed from successfully defending Brandon McNulty’s Giro di Sicilia lead on the slopes of Mt Etna, Gavin Mannion closed out Portugal’s GP Beiras with an 8th place stage finish into Colvilhã to secure 8th overall. Mannion’s result followed teammate Adam de Vos’s 9th place finish on stage one and Ryan Anderson’s 8th place on stage two.
The three day UCI 2.1 race lies at the heart of the Portuguese calendar and with the unpredictable and aggressive nature of Portuguese racing, ensured only the most resilient riders would achieve success.
“I’m definitely happy with the result,” said Mannion. “I didn’t come to this race as a planned leader and after a bit of sickness, wasn’t firing on all cylinders. But opportunities to grab results don’t come around all that often in cycling so I made the most of it.”
The main feature on the final stage was the 30 km Torre climb situated at the halfway point. Cresting over 6,000 ft in elevation, the fast pace to the snowy summit destroyed the peloton and Mannion found himself chasing the leaders over the top.
“I ended up in a small group just behind the front group of 15 riders,” said Mannion. “After the long descent, Robin, Nigel, and Randy all rejoined and immediately started riding the front. They were incredible and brought back the lead group and a breakaway in the final kilometers.”
Despite not being in top form, Mannion was spurred on by the performance of his teammates.
“They rode the front for 45 km which is a massive effort,” said Mannion. “That was my main motivation to try for a result. I can’t say I was feeling good at all but I wasn’t going to let my teammates do all that work and not try my hardest on the final climb to the line.”
Stage 3 results
1 BRANDÃO Joni Efapel 4:51:32
2 GARCÍA DE MATEOS Vicente Ludofoods Louletano Aviludo 0:02
3 ÁVILA Edwin Israel Cycling Academy ”
4 CELANO Danilo Amore & Vita – Prodir 0:05
5 TIZZA Marco Amore & Vita – Prodir ”
6 RODRIGUES David Miguel Costa Radio Popular Boavista ”
7 FIGUEIREDO Frederico Sporting Clube de Portugal/Tavira ”
8 MANNION Gavin Rally UHC Cycling “
9 NIV Guy Israel Cycling Academy ”
10 SANTORO Antonio Monkey Town – à Bloc CT ”
Final General Classification
1 ÁVILA Edwin Israel Cycling Academy 13:41:41
2 GARCÍA DE MATEOS Vicente Ludofoods Louletano Aviludo 0:02
3 BRANDÃO Joni Efapel 0:04
4 TIZZA Marco Amore & Vita – Prodir 0:18
5 FIGUEIREDO Frederico Sporting Clube de Portugal/Tavira 0:20
6 RODRIGUES David Miguel Costa Radio Popular Boavista 0:21
7 NIV Guy Israel Cycling Academy ”
8 MANNION Gavin Rally UHC Cycling “
9 CASIMIRO Henrique Efapel 0:22
10 VDOVIN Alexander Lokosphinx 0:24
