Will Clarke (Gensys Cycling Team) dominated the Tour of Coleraine over the weekend claiming all three stages and the overall title as Genesys team mate Ben Grenda finished runner up on their Malvern Star Oppy C7’s.
Team Genesys promised attacks and from the outset lived up to their word with Dylan Newell attacking as soon as the race started in stage one. The next break was the winning move of the day with Will Clarke and Ben Grenda attacking the peleton. 20km to go, Clarke attacked the group and went on a solo ride to victory winning by just over two minutes ahead of Grenda.
Stage two, a 45km Criterium in Coleraine was again another eventful stage. There were plenty of attacks and Genesys worked together to control the race. There were four intermediate sprints and with them came time bonuses with Grenda winning three. With 3km to go, the peleton weren't organised and the break was looking strong with a ten second advantage. In the final kilometre, Clarke made a break and claimed his second consecutive victory.
With a comfortable lead heading into stage three, Clarke and his team only needed to survive the stage with the main group. However, it wasn't that easy. A quarter of the way into the race, Clarke had to stop for two bike changes and the peleton attacked, leaving him stranded. In a show of great team work, every Genesys rider dropped back to help Clarke get back into the main field. After 20km of chasing, they rejoined the race.
Showing tremendous strength and perseverance, Clarke attacked the peleton and broke away with approximately 25km to go and was never caught cruising to another solo victory by over a minute. "In some ways I surprised myself. I felt strong and I was climbing very well. Even though the hills weren't that big, the legs were strong and I managed to take victory," Clarke said.
Not only did Clarke win the overall title, he claimed the king of the mountains jersey and team Genesys Wealth Advisers took the teams classification by over twenty minutes.
Stage 1 Results
1. Will Clarke (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
2. Ben Grenda (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
3. Pat Shaw (Virgin Blue RBS-Morgans)
4. Shaun McCarthy (Great Doherty Team)
5. Brodie Talbot (Search2retain - myteam)
Stage 2 Results
1. Will Clarke (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
2. Eric Shepard (Jayco VIS)
3. Ben Grenda (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
Stage 3 Results
1. Will Clarke (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
Overall Results
1. Will Clarke (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
2. Ben Grenda (Genesys Wealth Advisers Cycling Team)
3. Pat Shaw (Virgin Blue RBS-Morgans)
