Gabriel Cullaigh draws first blood for Great Britain at Under-23 Course de la Paix

Gabriel Cullaigh draws first blood for Great Britain at Under-23 Course de la Paix

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Great Britain's Gabriel Cullaigh drew first blood at the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup Course de la Paix in Czech Republic on Friday, winning the opening stage.

The 122-kilometre stage from Jeseník to Rýmarov saw three climbs on the way before the race reached the finishing circuit in Rymarov, where Cullaigh broke away with three other riders.

It was a perfect scenario for fast finisher Cullaigh, who hails from New Mill, near Holfirmth in Yorkshire, comfortably beating Slovenia's Marko Pavlic and home rider Daniel Turek in the sprint.

It was a maiden UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup win for Cullaigh and came after a strong performance at the UCI 2.2 Paris-Arras a week earlier, which saw the Yorkshireman finish sixth in the youth classification.

Stage two on Saturday however is sure to favour the grimpeurs of the peloton, culminating in a summit finish on Praded, the fifth highest mountain in Czech Republic and the country's highest paved road, topping out at over 1400 metres.

Great Britain's general classification hope Scott Davies survived a crash on the finishing circuit but rejoined and was given the same time as the bunch, 13 seconds down on his teammate, leaving the 19-year-old Welshman in a good position to challenge for the overall lead.

The race concludes on Sunday with a 160-kilometre stage starting and finishing in the host city of Jesenik.

Results

Stage 1 result
General classification after stage 1
Points classification after stage 1
Mountains classification after stage 1