Stage 4 - May 22: Killorglin - Castletownbere, 171 km     <Main Page>     <Previous Stage>     <Next Stage>

Newton fights back

The chief rival to race leader Ciarán Power showed that he had little intention of backing down in today's fourth stage of the FBD Milk Rás. Chris Newton raced clear on the road to Castletownbere and claimed back some of the time that his Irish rival gained 24 hours before.

After tracking Power for most of the 107 mile stage, Great Britain rider Newton launched a massive attack against the Team Ireland Stena Line cyclist on the foothills of the first category Healy Pass, the final climb of the day, and sped to the finish in Castletownbere some 39 seconds ahead of his main rival.

Newton remains over four minutes behind Power but while today's was a small gain, it proved to be a valuable confidence booster. While in yellow he had said that the overall classification did not interest him, yet with four stages remaining it is clear that the war is far from over.

One who has lost all chance of winning this 50th edition of the race is Mayo Connacht Gold rider David O'Loughlin. The American-based Irish pro jumped up to second overall yesterday but was forced to pull out of the race this morning due to a stomach bug. "I woke up during the night and didn't feel quite right," he said. "I initially didn't know what was wrong but then started vomiting. I am totally drained this morning and on medical advice, have decided not to start the stage."

Given that this was the first real mountain leg of the race, O'Loughlin's choice seems a wise one. The roads around the Ring of Kerry are notoriously difficult and with seven categorised climbs lying in wait, even fully-healthy riders were facing a gruelling day in the saddle.

Following several skirmishes, the first significant break occurred one hour into the stage when a group of ten joined together up the road and began to pull away from the main bunch. Newton had two team-mates in this break -- Steve Cummings and Tim Buckle, while Power's team-mate Paul Griffin was present to police the move. This was just as well, as there were other danger-men present -- Danish rider Ari Hojgaard and Huw Pritchard were both up overall and had the opportunity to regain some of their lost time.

Apart from Griffin, Irish interests were represented by Cork Stafford Fuels rider Richie Cahill, while Paddy Moriarty (Dublin Skip Hire) had the misfortune to puncture while bridging across to the escape.

Back in the bunch, the Team Ireland Stena Line team -- in particular Tommy Evans -- limited the gain of the leading group to around one minute, controlling the race for Power, but the yellow jersey was briefly caught napping when Newton and several others raced clear before the start of the Healy Pass.

Power quickly closed the gap to his main rival, but a chain problem meant that he was unable to respond to Newton's next attack shortly afterwards.

Clear of the Navigators professional, Newton drove the pace up towards the summit of the climb and, with eleven others to contribute, sped down the twisting descent and on towards Castletownbere. Power was forty seconds down at the top but combined with the Lancashire Compensation Group squad and Surrey's Gethin Butler to hold that gap to the line, where he rolled in a weary, but relieved, rider.

Newton was second in the sprint for stage honours behind Canadian professional Andrew Randell, and was bullish. "I could have won today if I had a clear run to the line -- the barriers jutted out near the finish and I had to back off," he said. "The real priority though was to gain time on the yellow jersey and I am pretty happy with how things went. Ciarán still has a big lead but I will keep on trying all the way to the finish."

Still over four minutes clear, Power remains in a strong position. "Newton got clear when I had bike problems and while I couldn't close the gap, we held him on the run in to the line," he said. "I am still confident. Every day is a danger, but I think we are strong enough to keep the jersey until the finish on Sunday."

1 Andrew Randell (Can) Canada Team Sympatico 4.21.26
2 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain
3 Hubert Nowak (Pol) Poland Team Legia
4 Dariusz Rudnicki (Pol) Poland Team Legia
5 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales
6 Hichem Menad (Alg) France VC La Pomme
7 Ari Hojgaard (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn
8 Carl Henning Brondberg (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn
9 Steve Cummings (GBr) Great Britain
10 Grzegorz Zoledziowski (Pol) Poland Team Legia 0.06

General classification after stage 4

1 Ciaran Power (Irl) Team Ireland Stena Line 16.27.45
2 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain 4.04
3 Ari Hojgaard (Den) Denmark Distrikt Jylland-Fyn 4.32
4 Hubert Nowak (Pol) Poland Team Legia 4.33
5 Andrew Randell (Can) Canada Team Sympatico
6 Hichem Menad (Alg) France VC La Pomme
7 Steve Cummings (GBr) Great Britain
8 John Tanner (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 4.55
9 Ben Brooks (Aus) NW England Cycle Centre RT 5.00
10 Kevin Dawson (GBr) Lancaster Compensation Group 5.04