Canadian rider Dominique Rollin took the sixth stage of the FBD Insurance Rás today, sprinting home at the head of a fourteen man breakaway group on the steep uphill finish in Derry. Marcel Barth (Germany Thuringer Energie) chased hard all the way to the line but had to be content with second, while Mark Cassidy (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) and Cassidy’s team-mate Stephen Gallagher filled the rest of the top five places.
It was US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada rider Rollin’s second stage win of the race and fortified his lead in the points classification. Equally importantly, it moved him up the general classification and strengthened the options for his team vis-à-vis the final overall victory.
He is now fifth overall, 40 seconds off the race lead of Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie), and with his team-mate Jessie Anthony four seconds closer in fourth place, the team has two strong options for the final two days of the race.
Martin and closest challengers Paídi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) and Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) all missed the break but remain to the fore in the general classification, although Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers) got into the move and jumped over Anthony into third place.
He, Rollin, Irish riders Cassidy, Stephen Gallagher (Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC), best county rider Isaac Speirs (Dublin Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group) plus eight others went clear in the first half of the short 96 kilometre stage. Martin’s team and several others tried to haul them back but left it too late.
As a result of the time gained, McDonald, Rollin and Cassidy move up to third, fifth and sixth overall and are all within striking distance of Martin heading into tomorrow’s penultimate stage.
O’Brien (17 seconds back) and Cassidy (44 seconds) are chief Irish hopes for an overall win but Gallagher, Kenneally and David McCann (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh) are also in the top ten, between 1’15 and 1’35 back.
“Rollin clipped away with about a kilometre to go,” said Cassidy, son of double FBD Rás winner Philip Cassidy. “Stephen Gallagher was on an Australian guy's wheel - it looked like he was going to close the gap but he wasn't very strong. Just coming into the finish, the German guy clipped off coming up the hill. An American guy let the wheel go coming around the corner and I found myself back a bit. I think second perhaps might otherwise have been possible. But the winner was very strong, he had a good gap.
“It was hard getting across to the break. I bridged with Brian Kenneally and a couple of others. It just seemed to be myself, Kenneally and a Danish guy riding at that point because the others didn't seem to be that strong. Once we got across we were given orders not to ride because of Paídi’s second place overall, but once the group started to come back we were told to perhaps maybe tap through. Towards the end we started riding a bit more, just to keep us out there because we were going for the stage.
Isaac Speirs finished seventh on the stage and was first county rider. It was an excellent performance from a rider who is still just 18 years of age; if he keeps progressing, he could have a big future ahead of him.
“It was okay in the break,” he said. “It was tough at the start but settled down eventually,” he said. “I thought the break might work out well because I saw Dominique Rollin in there and I knew that he is one of the strong riders in the race.
“At the end of the stage, he attacked just before a kilometre to go. He basically just rolled off the front, nobody held him. It was kind of hairy coming around the corners, it was very slippery.”
Race leader Martin came home at the head of the bunch and is looking strong. He must however watch a lot of riders in the final two stages. O’Brien, Cassidy and the others will be hoping that this plays to their advantage, but so too Rollin and Anthony.
The latter said that he is hoping to get back into yellow. “I'm looking forward to the next two days. It looks like they are going to be super-hard races, there is a lot of racing left to go. Everybody is still trying to get up there.
“Today was relatively painless. We had Dom [Dominique Rollin] in the big move off the front. It would have been nice to have had one more guy in there. I was third starting the day, the break got a little time but I will still be in the top five. I think it is possible to get right back up there in the next two stages. Things could really blow apart because a lot of guys are hurting while others are riding really strong right now. At the end of the race like this, the levels can go way up or down. Some guys just get totally blown while some guys are just flying.”
He led the race up until the end of the fifth stage, which crossed the first category Gap of Mamore near the finish. “Losing yellow then was partly down to the fact that we have such small teams and is hard to control the race,” he explained, when asked how he fell back in the general classification. “The end of that stage was really difficult with small roads, a bunch of little climbs - it was hard to navigate without knowing exactly what was coming up. That break just got a little bit too far up the road and in the end, that climb didn't hurt them as much as it hurt us.
“I was also not superstrong at the end, but I definitely gave it my best shot. We are still close…Dom got some time today so now we have two players. Anything can happen.”
Cassidy is also expecting a big battle, saying that the Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly riders are determined to do something. “We have been going well all year but we have had a serious amount of bad luck. We are really motivated because we knew we had really good legs coming to the Rás and said we would just give it a go. Everybody on the team seems to be going well. We have three guys in the top 10 and we are really playing off each other well.
“We are still in contention for the win, I think. The yellow jersey let a lot of good riders slip into the break today. If you keep doing that, it is definitely up for grabs. The race is certainly not over.”
The race continues tomorrow with a 165 kilometre stage from Derry to Newcastle. A further reshuffling is very possible and so too on Sunday’s final leg to Skerries. This has six category three climbs littering the 174 kilometre route, and is likely to play a decisive part in the final outcome.
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How it unfolded:
133 riders lined out in sunny but chilly conditions for the start of the shortest stage of this year’s FBD Insurance Rás, a 96 kilometre race from Buncrana to Derry. Several of the Ireland Subway Eat Fresh team were on borrowed bikes due to the fact that their own machines had been stolen from the team van during the night by thieves.
The stage was flat and expected to be very aggressive, and so it proved. Brian Taafe (Meath M. Donnelly Cycleways) lit the touchpaper when he jumped clear just after the drop of the flag and after he was reeled in, Paídi O’Brien (Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M.Donnelly Sean Kelly), Jason Hegert, Brendan Brooks (Australia FRF Couriers), Marcel Barth (Germany Thuringer Energie), Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) and Eugene Moriarty (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) raced clear.
O’Brien and former race leader Jesse Anthony had started the day second and third overall and it was of no surprise that the Germany Thuringer Energie team of yellow jersey Tony Martin closed this move down straight away.
Matthew Ward (Dublin Usher Insulations) and Brian Ahern (Dublin Dundrum Town Centre Orwell Wheelers) were next to try, with Ahern persisting alone. He was joined by Florian Frohn (Germany Thuringer Energie) and Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) but once again this came to nothing, and so too did a subsequent move by Neil Delahaye (Dublin Usher Insulations).
The next big break was the crucial one. Shortly after the town of Carndonagh nine riders slipped away at around the 28 kilometre point. They were former leader and current king of the mountains Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands), Stephen Gallagher (Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers NSWIS), Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha), Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes), Marcel Barth (Germany Thuringer Energie), Marcel Barth (Germany Thuringer Energie), Dominique Rollin (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada), Mark Lovatt (Team Sportscover) and Isaac Speirs (Dublin Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group).
With the gap at half a minute, Thomas Bendixen (Denmark Vision Bikes), Dominique Perras (USA Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Nathan Jones (Kildare Newbridge Remax) set off in pursuit. They were joined shortly afterwards by Mark Cassidy (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) and Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC). This quintet finally made the junction an hour after the start, by which time the peloton were a full minute back.
Peter Herzig (Australia FRF Couriers NSWIS) and Conor Murphy (Dublin Usher Insulations) tried to bridge but two against fourteen was a very tough task. With 55 kilometres covered they were 47 seconds back, while the bunch was a full 1 minute 50 seconds in arrears.
They finally gave up some 16 kilometres later, around about the time the leaders reached the 25 kilometre to go marker. The peloton was 1 minute 31 seconds adrift then but a number of teams including the Netherlands, Germany Thuringer Energie and Britain Stena Line Recycling.co.uk combined to try to close the move down.
The gap did fall as the riders raced onto the finishing circuit in Derry, but not fast enough. With one kilometre to go it was over twenty seconds, making it certain that one of those in the break would take the stage. That rider was Dominique Rollin, the Canadian surging clear with approximately a kilometre to go and rounding the corner alone onto the steep finishing straight. He sprinted up to the line and while Marcel Barth (Germany Thuringer Energie) closed up on him somewhat, Rollin was not to be denied.
Mark Cassidy came home a further two seconds back to net third ahead of Ricardo Van der Velde, while Stephen Gallagher and Thomas Bendixen landed fifth and sixth. Tomas Hruby (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) was first home of the bunch, placing 15th, some 22 seconds behind.
Meanwhile several other riders, including second-placed Paídi O’Brien plus David McCann and Dermot Nally of the Ireland Subway Eat Fresh team, crashed inside the slippery, technical final kilometre but were given the same time as the main bunch.
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FBD Insurance Rás (2.2)
Stage 6, Buncrana to Derry:
1, Dominique Rollin (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) 96 kilometres in 2 hours 12 mins 14 secs
2, Marcel Barth (Germany Thuringer Energie) at 1 sec
3, Mark Cassidy (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 3 secs
4, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) same time
5, Stephen Gallagher (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 4 secs
6, Thomas Bendixen (Denmark Vision Bikes) same time
7, Isaac Speirs (Dublin Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group) at 6 secs
8, Mark Lovatt (Team Sportscover)
9, Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) both same time
10, Dominique Perras (USA Kelly Benefit Strategies) at 8 secs
11, Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers NSWIS)
12, Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) both same time
13, Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes) at 10 secs
14, Nathan Jones (Kildare Newbridge Remax) at 16 secs
15, Tomas Hruby (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) at 22 secs
County rider:
1, Isaac Speirs (Dublin Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group) 2 hours 12 mins 20 secs
2, Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) at 2 secs
3, Ray Clarke (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) at 18 secs
Cooter Hoose Category 2:
1, Kevin Donagher (Dublin Dundrum Town Centre Orwell) 2 hours 12 mins 38 secs
2, Tom Fanning (Waterford Comeragh CC)
3, Daire McCaughley (Armagh Big Picture Developments) both same time
International team:
1, Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly, 6 hours 37 mins 13 secs
2, Denmark Vision Bikes, at 7 secs
3, US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada, at 17 secs
County team:
1, Dublin Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group, 6 hours 37 mins 36 secs
2, Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC, at 2 secs
3, Kildare Newbridge Remax, at 10 secs
General classification:
1, Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) 19 hours 49 mins 58 secs
2, Paidi O'Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 17 secs
3, Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers NSWIS) at 24 secs
4, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) at 36 secs
5, Dominique Rollin (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) at 40 secs
6, Mark Cassidy (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 44 secs
7, Chris Newton (Britain Stena Line Recyling.co.uk) at 1 min 2 secs
8, Stephen Gallagher (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 15 secs
9, Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) at 1min 22 secs
10, David McCann (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh) at 1 min 35 secs
11, Patrick Gretsch (Germany Thuringer Energie) at 1 min 43 secs
12, Alain Van der Velde (Netherlands) at 1 min 44 secs
13, Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers NSWIS)
14, Peter Herzig (Australia FRF Couriers NSWIS) both same time
15, Yvo Kusters (Netherlands) at 1min 52 secs
Under 23 rider:
1, Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) 19 hours 49 mins 58 secs
2, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) at 36 secs
3, Mark Cassidy (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 44 secs
County rider:
1, Brian Kenneally, 19 hours 51 mins 20 secs
2, Rory Wyley (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) at 1 min 22 secs
3, Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Developments)
Cycling Ireland category 2:
1, Brian Ahern (Dublin Dundrum Town Cente/Orwell) 20 hours 8 mins 37 sec
2, Alan Carey (Dublin Usher Insulations) at 20 mins
3, Tom Fanning (Waterford Comeragh CC) at 21 mins 16 secs
Points competition:
1, Dominique Rollin (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) 68 pts
2, Paidi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 42
3, Yvo Kusters (Netherlands) 39
Mountains competition:
1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 74 pts
2, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) 40
3, Paidi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 24
International team:
1, Germany Thuringer Energie, 59 hours 31 mins 36 secs
2, Netherlands, at 1 sec
3, Ireland Murphyand Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnnelly Sean Kelly, at 14 secs
County team:
1, Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC, 60 hours 14 mins 34 secs
2, Tipperary Dan Morrissey, at 26 mins 52 secs
3, Dublin Usher Insulations, at 33 mins 44 secs
