Daniel McLay

Daniel "Dan" McLay (born 3 January 1992) is a British racing cyclist, competing in road, track and cyclo-cross, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Arkéa–Samsic.[2] His first season as a professional was 2015, racing for French pro-continental and 2014 Tour de France wildcard outfit Bretagne–Séché Environnement. Primarily a sprinter, McLay is also competent in the Flemish racing scene and has a particular affinity to the Northern Classics. He was named in the start list for the 2016 Tour de France.[3]

Daniel McLay
Personal information
Full nameDaniel McLay
Born (1992-01-03) 3 January 1992
Wellington, New Zealand
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb; 11.7 st)
Team information
Current teamArkéa–Samsic
Disciplines
  • Road
  • Track
  • Cyclo-cross
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur teams
2008Leicestershire Road Club
2009Univega.co.uk
2011–2014Omega Pharma–Lotto Davo
Professional teams
2015–2017Bretagne–Séché Environnement
2018–2019EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale[1]
2020–Arkéa–Samsic
Major wins
One-day races and Classics
Grand Prix de Denain (2016)
Tour de l'Eurométropole (2017)

Career

Junior career

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, McLay moved to the United Kingdom as an infant and was brought up in Leicester. McLay began cycling competitively at the age of six. Following his success as under 16 rider at the British National Track Championships, he represented Great Britain at the 2007 European Youth Olympic Festival,[4] competing in the criterium and road race events.[5] He says [6] that he was not very good at sports that require coordination as a school-boy and thus this fuelled his desire to continue competing in cycling.

McLay was selected to represent Britain at the Junior European Cyclo-cross Championships in 2008, where he finished last.[7]

In 2009, McLay became a member of British Cycling's Olympic Academy.[8] McLay went on to win the bronze medal in the Madison at the UEC European Track Championships with partner Sam Harrison. He also represented Great Britain at the 2009 Junior UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.[9]

In 2010 he became World Champion in the Junior World Madison Track Championships, with Simon Yates.[10]

In 2014 he won a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir (English: The Tour of the Future). He also came seventh in Tour of Britain stages, a strong showing given that sprinters such as Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel, Mark Renshaw and Adam Blythe were also competing, although he said that seventh was not a representation of what he could have achieved.

Professional career

Bretagne–Séché Environnement (2015–17)

He signed for the Bretagne–Séché Environnement professional continental team for the 2015 season.[11] He won his first professional victory in Stage 3 of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo.[12] In the first UCI World Tour race of his career, Paris–Nice, McLay came eighth in stage 5.[13]

His second professional win came at the 2016 Grand Prix de Denain, a French 1.HC race, weaving his way from distance through the centre of the bunch to win it on the line.[14] His second win came a month later in the Grand Prix de la Somme, beating Nacer Bouhanni into 2nd place.[15] Due to those two wins, McLay was selected to take part in his first Tour de France, and finished in the Top 10 in his first sprint finish.[16] After another two top 10 finishes, McLay finished on the podium on Stage 6 behind Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel.[17]

In October 2017 McLay won the Tour de l'Eurométropole, pipping Anthony Turgis to the line after Turgis started his celebration early following a solo attack from the front group.[18]

EF Education First–Drapac (2018–19)

After his Tour de l'Eurométropole win, it was announced that McLay would join the WorldTour peloton by signing with EF Education First–Drapac p/b Cannondale for the 2018 season.[19]

Major results
2009
1st Points race, National Junior Track Championships
2010
UCI Junior Track World Championships
1st Madison (with Simon Yates)
2nd Team pursuit
National Junior Road Championships
1st Road race
2nd Time trial
1st Overall Junior Tour of Wales
2nd Paris–Roubaix Juniors
6th Overall Driedaagse van Axel
1st Stage 1
2011
1st Grand Prix de Waregem
6th Dorpenomloop Rucphen
2012
1st De Drie Zustersteden
1st Grand Prix José Dubois
2nd Kernen Omloop Echt-Susteren
2013
2nd Dorpenomloop Rucphen
4th Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
4th Paris–Chauny
5th Ster van Zwolle
5th Textielprijs Vichte
6th Overall Paris–Arras Tour
2014
1st Overall Ronde van Oost-Vlaanderen
1st Stage 2
Tour de Normandie
1st Points classification
1st Stage 3
1st Stage 3 Tour de l'Avenir
2nd Dorpenomloop Rucphen
3rd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
4th Overall Paris–Arras Tour
1st Stage 3
5th Grand Prix de la ville de Pérenchies
7th Paris–Tours Espoirs
10th Beaumont Trophy
2015
1st Otley Grand Prix
1st Stage 3 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
6th Brussels Cycling Classic
7th Paris–Bourges
8th Overall Tour de Picardie
8th Velothon Berlin
2016
1st Grand Prix de Denain
1st Grand Prix de la Somme
4th Grand Prix d'Isbergues
5th Overall Tour de Picardie
10th Overall Boucles de la Mayenne
10th Scheldeprijs
2017
1st Tour de l'Eurométropole
1st Trofeo Playa de Palma
3rd Trofeo Felanitx–Ses Salines–Campos–Porreres
2018
1st Stage 4 Circuit de la Sarthe
2019
1st Stage 1 Herald Sun Tour
1st Stage 2 Tour of Guangxi

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2016 2017
Giro d'Italia — —
Tour de France 170 DNF
Vuelta a España — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
gollark: You can just... not look up people's data without asking?
gollark: For example, if they ask you to.
gollark: Well, yes, it's not *always* bad.
gollark: I don't think he actually left.
gollark: Which is generally not the case with their targets.

References
  1. "EF Education First Pro Cycling". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  2. "Franck Bonnamour et Romain Le Roux avec Arkéa-Samsic en 2020" [Franck Bonnamour and Romain Le Roux with Arkéa-Samsic in 2020]. Arkéa–Samsic (in French). Pro Cycling Breizh. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. "2016 > 103rd Tour de France > Startlist". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  4. "Daniel McLay". 2007 European Youth Olympic Festival. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  5. "Cyclist Rides to Golden Glory". 2007 European Youth Olympic Festival. 25 July 2007.
  6. "Daniel McLay". 2014 Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  7. Bart Hazen (11 January 2008). "European Championships Cyclocross — Hoogstraten, Junior Men". Daily Peloton.
  8. "Great Britain Cycling Team Rider Biographies". British Cycling. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  9. Decaluwé, Brecht (31 January 2009). "Eising rises above the rest". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  10. "Leicestershire's Dan McLay strikes gold in world junior track meeting". Leicester Mercury. Trinity Mirror. 18 August 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  12. "Cycling: Dan McLay shows his sprinting speed and opens his winning account in Africa". Leicester Mercury. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  13. "Paris – Nice 2015 – Stage 5". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  14. "Dan McLay's sprint to win GP de Denain was incredible (video)". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  15. "In-form cyclist Dan McLay seals second win on the road". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  16. "Tour de France: Sepulveda and McLay named in Fortuneo-Vital Concept team". Cycling News. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  17. "Tour de France:Cavendish wins stage 6". Cycling News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  18. Robertshaw, Henry (2 October 2017). "Watch: Early celebration allows Dan McLay to clinch Belgian race at the last possible moment". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  19. Robertshaw, Henry (2 October 2017). "Dan McLay to make step up to WorldTour level as he signs for EF Education First-Drapac". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.