Three stage wins, four 2nd’s and the points jersey not enough for Newton
By Shane Stokes, Irishcycling.com

Stage 1 - May 19: Dublin - Ballinamore, 156 km

Stage 2 - May 20: Ballinamore - Nenagh, 163 km

Stage 3 - May 21: Nenagh - Killorglin, 156 km

Stage 4 - May 22: Killorglin - Castletownbere, 171 km

Stage 5 - May 23: Castletownbere - Midleton, 168 km

Stage 6 - May 24: (Transfer To Dungarvan) Dungarvan - Arklow, 155 km

Stage 7 - May 25: Arklow - Baltinglass, 153 km

Stage 8 - May 26: Phoenix Park Circuit Race, 50 km

Reflections on a great Ras (Article)

Ciarán Power today completed the final stage of the FBD Milk Rás without incident to land the first international win of his professional career.

The Team Ireland Stena Line rider held onto all of his four minutes-plus advantage in the Phoenix Park criterium, sprinting home a close second despite being hampered by gear trouble.

The final stage was won by GB rider Chris Newton, who ended the race second overall and took three stage wins plus the points classification.

As expected, Power was delighted with his performance. "It is great to come home and win this race, particularly after having such a disappointing season last year (he broke a collarbone and suffered a lot of bad luck). "Coming back to Ireland and doing this in front of everyone shows that I am still around and am getting stronger...I am very motivated now for the rest of the season."

Holding a large lead going into the stage, Power needed just to avoid crashes and other misfortune in order to win the race. His Team Ireland Stena Line squad helped limit attacks in the criterium in Dublin's vast Phoenix Park, setting a high pace at the front of the bunch and reeling in anyone strong enough to have a go.

"Ciarán rode well", said Newton. "I thought that when I got a little bit of time back on Wednesday that I might be able to get the jersey back, but he was stronger after that. To tell you the truth, I was suffering a leg problem for the past few days and was on anti-inflammatories. I had a muscle strain and couldn't really pedal properly, so I was more concerned yesterday with the guys behind me. I think the problem is just that I have done three stage races in a row - I will take a break now and things should be fine."

"It was a very enjoyable race here", he continued. "The crowds are amazing, they really cheer the riders on, and I had a good time. It is a bit of a busman's holiday for me but I had fun."

So too, clearly, did Power. "I am very motivated now and looking forward to going back to the team (Navigators). Things are really good over there, I am settling in very well and going better than ever as a result. The US Pro champs series is the next big target. I will build towards them and then come back here to ride the national championships."

Of the other Irish, Eugene Moriarty (Meath Lee Strand Cycleways), Kieran McMahon (Ciarrai Earl of Desmond) and Moriarty"s team-mate Aidan Crowley all sprinted into the top ten on the stage, a cracking performance considering the strength of the field.

Besides Power, best of the Irish overall was Paddy Moriarty. The Dubliner once again showed his stage race pedigree in finishing 13th overall, a brilliant result for a full-time worker and one which saw him win the award for best club rider in the race.

Meath Lee Strand Cycleways dominated the county team category (ahead of Dublin Skip Hire and Ciarrai Earl of Desmond) with their captain, Phil Cassidy, taking the only Irish stage win. Frank O'Leary (Dublin Usher Insulation) was best of the second-category riders in the race, while his team-mate David Peelo got a special meritorious award for his efforts during the week. So too Dublin Iarnrod Eireann's John Peppard, who broke a collarbone and two wrists in a crash on day one, but who still bravely rode on to finish the first stage.

Final general classification

1 Ciaran Power (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 28.15.42
2 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain 4.03
3 Hubert Nowak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 4.33
4 Hichem Menad (Alg) France VC La Pomme 4.43
5 John Tanner (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 4.55
6 Mark Lovatt (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 5.12
7 Ari Hojgaard (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn 7.42
8 Ian McLeod (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 8.17
9 Gethin Butler (GBr) Surrey League 12.19
10 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales 14.40
11 Kevin Dawson (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 15.13
12 Ben Brooks (Aus) NW England Cycle Centre RT 15.19
13 Patrick Moriarty (Irl) Dublin Skip Hire 15.29
14 Paul Manning (GBr) Great Britain 15.40
15 Dariusz Rudnicki (Pol) Poland Team Legia 21.48
16 Grzegorz Zoledziowski (Pol) Poland Team Legia 21.48
17 Carl Henning Brondberg (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland- 22.13
18 Jurgen Rodenbeck (Ger) Germany Team Hameln-Pyrmont 22.23
19 Jaroslaw Welniak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 22.23
20 Nicolas White (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 26.16
21 Daniel Spence (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 27.02
22 Rory Wyley (Irl) Southend www.Sdeals.Com 27.10
23 Tim Buckle (GBr) Great Britain 27.19
24 Gary Dodd (GBr) Surrey League 27.48
25 Marek Blazej (Pol) Poland Team Legia 28.10
26 Bryan Steel (GBr) Great Britain 30.42
27 Ross Muir (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 31.19
28 Raymond Clarke (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 31.43
29 Rob Holden (GBr) Isle Of Man 31.47
30 Eugene Moriarty (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 32.30
31 Denis Lynch (Irl) France VC La Pomme 32.42
32 Nikolas Knudsen (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn 34.04
33 Andrew Donnellan (Irl) Dublin Iarnrod Eireann 35.26
34 Stephen O'Sullivan (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 35.28
35 Paul Sheppard (GBr) Wales 40.02
36 Elliot Baxter (GBr) Isle Of Man 44.24
37 Sean Lacey (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 44.50
38 Stephen Mifsud (Fra) France VC La Pomme 46.01
39 Huw Pritchard (GBr) Wales 46.15
40 Mark Kelly (GBr) Isle Of Man 47.20
41 Philip Finegan (Irl) Kildare Team Fig Roll 47.51
42 Tommy Evans (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 48.42
43 Sean Farrell (Irl) Dublin Iarnrod Eireann 49.07
44 Andrew Randell (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 49.58
45 Timo Wolk (Ger) Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 50.58
46 Alastair Kay (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 52.20
47 Philip Cassidy (Irl) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 53.11
48 Takeshi Hashimoto (Jpn) Japan Cycleways 56.06
49 Vincent Gleeson (Irl) Mayo Connacht Gold 56.06
50 David Peelo (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 57.15
51 Denis Easton (Irl) Meath Avonmore 58.33
52 Justin Hoy (GBr) Surrey League 1.02.13
53 Thomas Hogan (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 1.03.50
54 Alexander Ross (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 1.06.43
55 Peter Murdoch (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 1.07.40
56 Michael Mulcahy (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 1.09.07
57 Tim Davies (GBr) Wales 1.09.12
58 Josh Hall (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 1.10.17
59 Richard Eastham (GBr) Nth East England 1.11.20
60 Chris Belsham (GBr) Nth East England 1.13.01
61 Paul Healion (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 1.13.16
62 Matthew Melville (GBr) Southend www.Sdeals.Com 1.13.58
63 Stephen Gallagher (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 1.14.36
64 Frederic Pedersoli (Fra) France VC La Pomme 1.15.10
65 Joe Fenlon (Irl) Kildare Team Fig Roll 1.15.22
66 Roger Morgan (GBr) Surrey League 1.15.25
67 Colm Bracken (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 1.15.30
68 Adrian Hedderman (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 1.15.30
69 Greg Roche (GBr) NW England Cycle Centre RT 1.15.50
70 Graeme Hatcher (GBr) Isle Of Man 1.16.16
71 Frank O'Leary (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 1.18.03
72 Tom Hughes (Irl) Meath M. Donnelly Team 1.19.42
73 Stefen Small (GBr) Lancs M.K. Cycles Bianchi 1.19.53
74 Mark McLeavey (Irl) Dublin Skip Hire 1.21.35
75 Paul Watson (GBr) Nth East England 1.23.22
76 Thorsten Wiedenroth (Ger) Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 1.23.42
77 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) France VC La Pomme 1.24.21
78 Andrew Yates (GBr) Lancs M.K. Cycles Bianchi 1.30.58
79 Kieran McMahon (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 1.32.58
80 Gareth Jones (GBr) NW England Cycle Centre RT 1.33.22
81 James Hodnett (Irl) Mayo Connacht Gold 1.33.50
82 John Charlesworth (GBr) Nth East England 1.33.57
83 Aidan Crowley (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 1.34.30
84 Kealan O'Connor (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 1.37.11
85 Chris McNamara (GBr) Surrey League 1.38.15
86 Richard Cahill (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 1.40.21
87 Rodney Green (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 1.46.42
88 Paul Griffin (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 1.52.55
89 Taichi Suzuki (Jpn) Japan Cycleways 1.57.07
90 Peter Hey (GBr) NW England Cycle Centre RT 1.57.35
91 Dermot Healy (Irl) Dublin Skip Hire 1.57.59
92 Mark Power (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 1.58.00
93 Buck Miller (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 2.01.53
94 Martin O'Louglin (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 2.02.50
95 Tim Barry (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 2.04.28
96 Simon Kelly (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 2.06.23
97 Stefan Rothe (Ger) Germany Team Hameln-Pyrmont 2.08.23
98 Ciaran Kelly (Irl) Dublin Iarnrod Eireann 2.08.58
99 Laurence Roche (Irl) Dublin BH-Raleigh 2.09.22
100 Craig Sweetman (Irl) Meath M. Donnelly Team 2.15.50
101 Arne Hinrichsen (Ger) Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 2.20.28
102 Tim Ahern (Irl) Dublin UCD 2.20.45
103 John Horgan (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 2.27.03
104 Brian Lynch (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 2.27.29
105 Brian Kenneally (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 2.29.17
106 Brian Taaffe (Irl) Dublin UCD 2.32.24
107 Steve Gibson (GBr) Nth East England 2.33.02
108 William Byrne (Irl) Dublin Iarnrod Eireann 2.45.32
109 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Japan Cycleways 2.50.18
110 John Paul Hilliard (Irl) Dublin Skip Hire 2.51.01
111 Thomas Graham (Irl) Dublin Ravens West 2.58.04
112 Phil Southerland (USA) People's Cycling Team 3.00.53
113 Eugene Murtagh (Irl) Dublin Ravens North 3.04.45
114 Fergal Kelly (Irl) Dublin Stagg Cycles 3.04.51
115 Jeff Austin (USA) USA Peoples Cycling Team 3.04.52
116 Alan Lane (Irl) Dublin UCD 3.05.51
117 Francis Ennis (Irl) Kildare Newbridge Cutlery 3.17.11
118 Ian Furniss (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 3.19.49
119 Pat Kennealy (Irl) Dublin UCD 3.26.15
120 Fintan McCormack (Irl) Kildare Newbridge Cutlery 3.33.28
121 David Elson (Irl) Dublin BH-Raleigh 3.33.49
122 Derek King (Irl) Dublin Ravens West 3.37.58
123 Jonathan Malone (Irl) Kildare Newbridge Cutlery 3.45.34
124 Stephen Howells (GBr) Southend www.Sdeals.Com 3.50.09
125 Julian Sharples (GBr) Lancs M.K. Cycles Bianchi 3.58.37
126 Gary Sheehan (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 4.10.46
127 Niall Quinlan (Irl) Kildare Team Fig Roll 4.21.18
128 John Dillon (Irl) Dublin Ravens North 4.39.50
129 Jake Hennen (USA) NW England Cycle Centre RT 4.43.49
130 Steve Lepine (USA) Southend www.Sdeals.Com 4.48.36
131 Paul Reid (Irl) Dublin Ravens West 5.00.07
132 Paddy Sweeney (Irl) Meath Avonmore 5.04.35
133 Jim Maguire (Irl) Dublin Stagg Cycles 5.15.41
134 David Lane (Irl) Dublin UCD 5.20.12
135 Christopher Harnish (USA) USA Peoples Cycling Team 5.51.53

Points classification

1 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain 107 pts
2 Ciaran Power (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 88
3 Hubert Nowak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 61
4 Dariusz Rudnicki (Pol) Poland Team Legia 55
5 Huw Pritchard (GBr) Wales 50
6 John Tanner (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 47
7 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales 33
8 Ian McLeod (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 32
9 Mark Lovatt (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 31
10 Philip Cassidy (Irl) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 29
11 Eugene Moriarty (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 28
12 Hichem Menad (Alg) France VC La Pomme 27
13 Ben Brooks (Aus) NW England Cycle Centre RT 26
14 Ari Hojgaard (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn 24
15 Paul Manning (GBr) Great Britain 23
16 Andrew Randell (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 22
17 Grzegorz Zoledziowski (Pol) Poland Team Legia 21
18 Ross Muir (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 17
19 Denis Lynch (Irl) France VC La Pomme 13
20 Colm Bracken (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 13
21 Gethin Butler (GBr) Surrey League 12
22 Kevin Dawson (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 12
23 Gary Dodd (GBr) Surrey League 12
24 Kieran McMahon (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 11
25 Buck Miller (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 9
26 Carl Henning Brondberg (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland- 8
27 Aidan Crowley (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 8
28 Mark Kelly (GBr) Isle Of Man 7
29 Taichi Suzuki (Jpn) Japan Cycleways 7
30 Patrick Moriarty (Irl) Dublin Skip Hire 6
31 Jaroslaw Welniak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 6
32 Paul Griffin (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 6
33 Denis Easton (Irl) Meath Avonmore 5
34 Rob Holden (GBr) Isle Of Man 4
35 Nicolas White (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 3
36 Marek Blazej (Pol) Poland Team Legia 3
37 Stephen O'Sullivan (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 3
38 Frederic Pedersoli (Fra) France VC La Pomme 3
39 Arne Hinrichsen (Ger) Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 3
40 Sean Lacey (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 2
41 Thorsten Wiedenroth (Ger) Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 2
42 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) France VC La Pomme 1

Mountains classification

1 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales 115 pts
2 Paul Manning (GBr) Great Britain 87
3 Daniel Spence (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 62
4 Hichem Menad (Alg) France VC La Pomme 58
5 Ciaran Power (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 49
6 Tim Buckle (GBr) Great Britain 45
7 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain 45
8 Hubert Nowak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 33
9 Paul Griffin (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 27
10 Ari Hojgaard (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn 26
11 Huw Pritchard (GBr) Wales 21
12 Nicolas White (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 18
13 Philip Cassidy (Irl) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 14
14 John Tanner (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 14
15 Jaroslaw Welniak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 11
16 Denis Lynch (Irl) France VC La Pomme 10
17 Timo Wolk (Ger) Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 9
18 Paul Healion (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 8
19 Mark Lovatt (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 7
20 Carl Henning Brondberg (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland- 6
21 Eugene Moriarty (Ire) Meath Lee Strand Cycleways 6
22 Andrew Randell (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 6
23 Yasutaka Tashiro (Jap) France VC La Pomme 5
24 Gethin Butler (GBr) Surrey League 4
25 Grzegorz Zoledziowski (Pol) Poland Team Legia 4
26 Alexander Ross (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 4
27 Dariusz Rudnicki (Pol) Poland Team Legia 3
28 Stephen Mifsud (Fra) France VC La Pomme 3
29 Richard Cahill (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 3
30 Tim Barry (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 3
31 Ben Brooks (Aus) NW England Cycle Centre RT 2
32 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Japan Cycleways 2
33 Tommy Evans (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 1
34 Rodney Green (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 1

Ben McKenna Mem. Trophy (U23)

1 Hubert Nowak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 28.20.15
2 Ian McLeod (Rsa) South Africa Team HSBC 3.44
3 Dariusz Rudnicki (Pol) Poland Team Legia 17.15
4 Grzegorz Zoledziowski (Pol) Poland Team Legia 17.15
5 Denis Lynch (Irl) France VC La Pomme 28.09
6 Sean Lacey (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 40.17
7 Mark Kelly (GBr) Isle Of Man 42.47
8 Thomas Hogan (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 59.17
9 Alexander Ross (GBr) Scotland-Visit Scotland 1.02.10
10 Stephen Gallagher (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 1.10.03
11 Buck Miller (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 1.57.20
12 Stefan Rothe (Ger) Germany Team Hameln-Pyrmont 2.03.50
13 Tim Ahern (Irl) Dublin UCD 2.16.12
14 Kenichi Suzuki (Jpn) Japan Cycleways 2.45.45
15 Phil Southerland (USA) People's Cycling Team 2.56.20
16 Fergal Kelly (Irl) Dublin Stagg Cycles 3.00.18
17 Jeff Austin (USA) USA Peoples Cycling Team 3.00.19
18 Gary Sheehan (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 4.06.13
19 Steve Lepine (USA) Southend www.Sdeals.Com 4.44.03

ICF Cat. 2 classification

1 Frank O'Leary (Irl) Dublin Usher Insulation 29.33.45
2 Mark Power (Irl) Tipperary Dan Morrissey 39.57
3 John Horgan (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 1.09.00
4 Brian Lynch (Irl) Cork Stafford Fuels 1.09.26
5 Fergal Kelly (Irl) Dublin Stagg Cycles 1.46.48
6 Alan Lane (Irl) Dublin UCD 1.47.48
7 Francis Ennis (Irl) Kildare Newbridge Cutlery 1.59.08
8 David Elson (Irl) Dublin BH-Raleigh 2.15.46
9 Derek King (Irl) Dublin Ravens West 2.19.55
10 Gary Sheehan (Irl) Ciarrai Earl Of Desmond 2.52.43
11 John Dillon (Irl) Dublin Ravens North 3.21.47
12 Paul Reid (Irl) Dublin Ravens West 3.42.04
13 Jim Maguire (Irl) Dublin Stagg Cycles 3.57.38

Internatioanl Team classification

1 Great Britain 85.11.06
2 Lancaster Compensation Group 1.24
3 Poland Team Legia 23.36
4 Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn 25.32
5 South Africa Team HSBC 30.33
6 France VC La Pomme 53.11
7 Scotland-Visit Scotland 56.23
8 Wales 1.09.50
9 Surrey League 1.12.19
10 Isle Of Man 1.28.45
11 Team Ireland Stena Line 1.54.28
12 Canada Team Sympatico 2.03.40
13 NW England Cycle Centre RT 2.31.02
14 Nth East England 2.55.21
15 Japan Cycleways 3.45.01
16 Germany Team Stevens-Jeantex 4.11.08
17 Southend www.Sdeals.Com 4.49.23
18 Lancs M.K. Cycles Bianchi 5.48.10
19 USA Peoples Cycling Team 10.13.39