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2007 After being clear for most of the stage in a five man breakaway group, Irish rider Paídi O’Brien took a fine second place on today’s mountainous leg of the FBD Insurance Rás and jumped from 11th to a strong second overall. The Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly rider had an impressive showing, joining forces with Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) in the final minutes of the 131 kilometre stage to bring back lone leader Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) and sprint home second into Buncrana. Equally importantly, he gained time on the previous race leader Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada), moving ahead of him in the general classification. And while Graf’s team-mate Tony Martin put in a late surge from behind to take over the yellow jersey, O’Brien is now sitting just 17 seconds away from the top of the leaderboard with three stages remaining. “We knew it was windy at the beginning so we said that we would go and try to have the full team at the front,” the 23 year old Corkman said. “Then as that group got bigger the speed went out of it, so I attacked. We got into a group, it wasn’t too hard and we kept putting time into the others. I thought then that it might be possible to take the jersey or to go for the stage win. “The climb was hard, you couldn’t get out of the saddle because the back wheel was spinning. Then in the last ten kilometres our team manager Kurt Bogaerts came onto the race radio and said that I should try to go for time [rather than hold back and save energy for a stage victory], so gave it everything coming in the last ten kilometres. I did most of the work as I needed to get the time; both those other guys were 20 minutes down so they were playing for the stage…it is understandable.” Graf’s team-mate Tony Martin came in sixth, one place behind double FBD Insurance Rás winner Chris Newton (Britain Stena Line Recycling.co.uk), but his identification was initially missed by the race judges as his race number was obscured by a rainjacket he was wearing. O’Brien initially believed he was in yellow but then found out that he was second overall, 17 seconds back. “It is not too disappointing to not have yellow because there are still three long days ahead,” he said. “While it would have been nice to have the jersey, I can still go on the attack tomorrow because I don’t have to defend the lead. We will see how things finish up on Sunday!” O’Brien, Graf, new king of the mountains Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands), Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers) and Yannick Tiedt (Germany Stevens Von Hacht) had initially gone clear of the other big hitters approximately twenty kilometres into the stage. They built a lead of over two minutes and hit the Mamore Gap with a good advantage. Van der Velde jumped away on the tough ascent and soloed over this and the following climb of Old Mountain, but the other two had enough left in the tank to bring him back. Martin, meanwhile, clipped away with Newton and raced in to the line, finishing close enough to O’Brien to ensure he rather than the Irishman took over the race lead from Anthony. The American rider was 1 minute 22 seconds back, landing tenth place on the stage. Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) and Paul Griffin (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh) had started the day second and third overall but they slipped back on the climb and drop to tenth and sixteenth respectively. O’Brien (2nd), Mark Cassidy (7th), David McCann (8th), Stephen Gallagher (9th) and Kenneally are all in the top ten heading into tomorrow’s stage, a short 96 kilometre leg from Buncrana to Derry. Three days remain and there is a lot of racing left to do. ---------- How it unfolded: 136 riders lined out in overcast conditions for the start of stage 5 of the FBD Insurance Rás, a gruelling 131 kilometres from Dungloe to Buncrana. The day’s route would see the riders cross six categorised climbs, including the second cat Carabit and Pinch Mountain plus first category Gap of Mamore, regarded by some as one of the hardest climbs in the country. It tops out just 13 kilometres from the finish, making it vitally important for those hoping for stage honours or a good showing in the general classification. After a very aggressive start a group of twenty-nine riders went clear approximately ten kilometres into the stage and were together when they hit slopes of the day’s first climb, the cat 3 Peirse Mor. There was a chasing group of 20 riders at 33 seconds, with another group 50 seconds back. Race leader Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) fortified his hold on the mountains jersey when he beat closest challenger Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) and Brian Kenneally to the top of the climb. The two frontmost groups joined soon afterwards. Further back, a lot of riders were under pressure, with a large peloton over two minutes down. Robin Chaigneau (Netherlands) took top points on the day’s second climb, Carabit (category 2, 18.3 km), crossing the line ahead of team-mate Van der Velde and Anthony. Shortly afterwards, Van der Velde clipped away alone, realising that he needed to open up some distance over Anthony in a bid to maximise his chances of taking the mountains jersey. He was joined by four others, namely Paídi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers), Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) and Yannick Tiedt (Germany Stevens Von Hacht), and these five opened a 30 second lead over a 52 man chasing group. After 30 kilometres of racing the gap was 43 seconds. 11 riders set off in pursuit, namely Yvo Kusters (Netherlands), Mark Cassidy, Stephen Gallagher, Glenn Bak (all Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Peter Herzig (Australia FRF Couriers), Chris Newton (Britain Recycling.co.uk), Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie), Dominque Rollin and race leader Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada), Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Developments) and Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC). These were then joined by Paul Griffin (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh), Alain Van der Velde (Netherlands), Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers), Mart Ojavee (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) and Marcin Bialoblocki (Team Sportscover). More riders then came up just before the leaders headed into Letterkenny, some 50 kilometres after the start of the stage. O’Brien and the other four up front were briefly sent the wrong direction here, losing some time, but being quickly alerted to the problem and getting back on course. Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Developments) set off in pursuit and closed to within 12 seconds of the quintet before eventually cracking and slipping back to the chasing group at the 84 kilometre point. Van de Velde continued to scoop the points when he finished ahead of O’Brien and Tiedt on the category three climb of Slavary (93.2 km). The yellow jersey group was 2’27 back at this stage, with his US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada team doing the bulk of the chasing. Despite this driving, by the time Van de Velde collected the top points at Pinch Mountain (102.8 km), the gap was still around two and a half minutes, and as the rain came down with 20 kilometres remaining, the break were two minutes and 40 seconds clear. The stage win suddenly looked more than possible. Van de Velde was certainly aiming for that and drove hard on Mamore Gap to crest the top ahead of Graf and O’Brien. He tore down the short descent and then dug deep again on the final climb of the day, the third cat Old Mountain, collecting more KOM points and ensuring that he would end the day a very considerable 34 points ahead of Anthony. The summit of the climb was just ten kilometres from the line and so he continued to drive the pedals around, knowing that the stage win was up for grabs. However Graf and O’Brien were also digging in, the latter aware that he could take over the yellow jersey, and they finally caught and passed the Dutchman inside the last two kilometres. Once onto the streets of Buncrana, Graf outsprinted O’Brien for the stage victory. Further back, the yellow jersey group had exploded on the slopes of Mamore, with Chris Newton – who won here four years ago – and Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) ripping clear of the others and chasing hard all the way to the line. They came in 42 seconds behind Graf and O’Brien, Newton taking the sprint for fourth. Irish duo David McCann and Stephen Gallagher came in sixth and seventh, just ahead of Gallagher’s Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team-mate Glenn Bak, while the race leader Jesse Anthony finished 1’22 behind Graf in tenth place. The race judges initially thought O’Brien was the new race leader, but a careful examination of the finishing photographs showed that Martin’s race number was obscured by the gillet he was wearing. He was confirmed as the new race leader once this was factored into the calculations, while O’Brien ended the day second overall, 17 seconds back. A disappointed Anthony slipped to third, 36 off the yellow jersey he had worn for two stages. He also conceded his best young rider lead to Martin and his KOM jersey to Van der Velde, but is likely to come out all guns blazing tomorrow in a bid to get the yellow jersey back. O’Brien is also going to go on the offensive, knowing that a good showing in the final three stages could yet produce an Irish winner. Stage 6 will take the riders 96 kilometres to Derry. It’s a mainly flat stage but the short distance is certain to result in aggressive, attacking, flat-out racing. Martin is 17 seconds clear at the top of the leaderboard but the final race victory is still quite some way away. -------- Stage 5, Dungloe to Buncrana: 1, Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) 131 kilometres in 3 hours 12 mins 17 secs (40.88 km/h) Peirse Mór, category 3 (15.4 km): 1, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) 5 pts Carabit, category 2 (18.3 km): 1, Robin Chaigneau (Netherlands) 10 pts Slavary, category 3 (93.2 km): 1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 5 pts Pinch Mountain, category 2 (102.8 km): 1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 10 pts Mamore, category 1 (117.7 km) 1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 15 pts Old Mountain, category 3 (121 km): 1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 5 pts 1, Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Developments) 3 hours 14 mins 36 secs Cotter Hoose category 2: 1, Alan Carey (Dublin Usher Insulations) 3 hours 28 mins 40 secs 1, Germany Thuringer Energie, 9 hours 39 mins 54 secs 1, Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC, 10 hours 7 secs 1, Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) 17 hours 37 mins 20 secs 1, Dominique Rollin (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) 53 Mountains competition: 1, Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) 17 hours 37 mins 20 secs 1, Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) 17 hours 38 mins 58 secs 1, Brian Ahern (Dublin Dundrum Town Centre/Orwell Wheelers) 17 hours 55 mins 59 secs 1, Netherlands, 52 hours 54 mins 4 secs 1, Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC, 53 hours 36 mins 56 secs |
