Stage 4 - May 25: Lisdoonvarna - Templemore, 162 km     <Main Page >     <Previous Stage>     <Next Stage>

Golden oldie Elliott wins again in Templemore
By Shane Stokes in Templemore

First, at last. For the past two days, Malcolm Elliott has come close to achieving his goal of a stage win on this FBD Insurance Rás, sprinting strongly but being pipped by race leader Chris Newton each time. Today, the Yorkshire – Trinity Capital rider turned back the clock to the era when he was winning stages in races such as the Tour of Spain and the Nissan Classic, thundering in at the head of the bunch and taking the top honours.

In his heyday Elliott was one of the fastest sprinters in the European peloton and, while he is now 43 years of age, he still retains much of his speed. He outsprinted 109 other riders to win into the town of Templemore, outsmarting an overconfident Newton who jumped too early.

Elliott's victory was particularly sweet for the Yorkshire – Trinity Capital team, as Newton's team had staged a last gasp recapture of two of their riders. Mark Lovatt and Ireland's Tommy Evans were clear right up to the closing stages, going eyeballs out to try to hold off the main bunch. Evans blew with two kilometres remaining, while Lovatt was caught just 100 metres from the line

"The last two days I haven't been quite up to power, but today it all fell into place," said Elliott after the finish. "I didn't think it was going to be a bunch sprint today – when that break went I thought I would stay away. At the end, when there were just two riders from my own team left in front, I thought it couldn't be any better for us. Unfortunately it didn't stay that way. The pace picked up towards the finish as people started sensing possible victory. Tommy and Mark were brought back right at the end – for me to win is a consolation, really. If they couldn't take it, me getting the victory is the next best thing."

Despite the fact that he is second overall, trailing race leader Newton by just eight seconds, Elliott's stated target in the race is to win stages. He said on Monday that he didn't feel he was climbing well enough to take the yellow jersey to Dublin. And while he may well have a go tomorrow, the initial goal remains the same. "It was a real weight off my shoulders to get a stage win," he says, "and hopefully another is possible".

Third on the stage was Irish rider Eugene Moriarty (Meath – Cycleways.com) with compatriot Paul Healion (Dublin – Usher Insulations) taking a fine fourth. Both were delighted with their finish but things could have been even better for the home riders had misfortune not struck near the end.

Four riders – Tommy Evans, Mark Lovatt (both Yorkshire – Trinity Capital), Philip Cassidy (Meath – Cycleways.com), and John Charlesworth (NE England) were to the fore with thirty kilometres remaining. They had just left breakaway companions Zach Bell (Canada – Jet Fuel Coffee), Are Andresen (Norway – Sparebanken Vest) and Duncan Urquhart (Scotland) and were hammering in a bid to hold off the peloton. However, when Cassidy and Charlesworth (plus Bell and Andresen) fell on a dangerous bend, Evans and Lovatt were left alone up front. Had the others stayed upright, it is likely that they – rather than Elliott and Newton - would have been fighting it out for the stage honours.

How it unfolded
Today's fourth stage saw the riders face four climbs on the 162 kilometres between Lisdoonvarna and Templemore. However, with each being third category ascents, they were unlikely to have as pronounced an effect as did the cat two Corkscrew Hill yesterday.

183 starters lined out for yet another wet start to a stage. Today's route travelled 162 kilometres from Lisdoonvarna and Templemore, and included four category three climbs.

One of the first to attack was Duncan Urquhart (Scotland). When the solo move didn't gain him a decent lead, he tried again with Paídi O"Brien (Ireland Grant Thornton), Andrei Mustonen (Estonia – Kalev Chocolate), Stian Remme (Norway – Sparebanken Vest) and John Charlesworth (NE England). But these too were soon recaptured.

At the thirty kilometre point nine riders played their hand. A persistent Urquhart was present, as was Stephen Gallagher (Ireland – Grant Thornton), Kevin Miller (Canada – Jet Fuel Coffee), Rostislav Krotky (Czech Republic – Elmarco KK Cube), Ian MacGregor (US – TIAA CREF), Ben Greenwood (GB – Recycling.co.uk), Tommy Evans (Yorkshire – Trinity Capital), Denis Lynch (Cork – Kanturk) and Philip Cassidy (Meath – Cycleways.com).

Several groups tried to get across to this one, but to no avail. After MacGregor dropped back with derailleur problems, Andrei Mustonen (Estonia – Kalev Chocolates) and Stian Remme (Norway – Sparebanken Vest) joined up with Morten Christiansen (Norway – Sparebanken Vest) and Donald Reeb (US – Guinness) to try to get across.

This effort was unsuccessful, as was a subsequent chase by Jan Novak (Czech Republic – Elmarco KK Cube), Anthony Malarczyk (Britain – Fujibikes.com), Gabriel Rasch (Norway – Sparebanken Vest), Paul Manning (GB – Recycling.co.uk) and Kevin Dawson (Yorkshire – Trinity Capital).

The lead was just 18 seconds after approximately fifty kilometres and, sensing the need to hoof it, Mustonen, Evans, Urquhart and Cassidy attacked the rest of the break and pressed on ahead. Mustonen slipped back soon afterwards, but Zach Bell (Canada – Jet Fuel Coffee), Are Andresen (Norway – Sparebanken Vest), Mark Lovatt (Yorkshire – Trinity Capital) and John Charlesworth (NE England) provided welcome reinforcement when they managed to get across.

The break seemed to have exactly the right combination to have a strong chance. Cassidy and Evans have won three Rasanna between them, Lovatt was a former wearer of the yellow jersey and each of the seven were strong, able riders. Recognising the danger, Under 23 classification leader Stuart Gillespie (US TIAA – CREF) and Kristian House (Britain – Fujibikes) tried to join the break. They were later joined by Simon Saunders (Surrey Racing League), but were left dangling in no man's land for some time before their recapture.

The leaders were a minute and a half clear of the three chasers as they raced onto the lower slopes of the day's first climb, Formoyle. First to the top was Evans, ahead of Andresen, Lovatt and Bell. The order over the next ascent, Ballybrack, was Cassidy, Lovatt, Andresen and Bell, while Lovatt led Urquhart, Bell and Evans across the top of the day's penultimate hill, Lackamore.

With 50 kilometres remaining the gap was 1 minute and 46 kilometres, but on the final climb of Curreeney Cross this dropped to just over a minute. Lovatt was growing anxious and attacked his companions over the top. Cassidy, Bell and Andresen were first to react, but when Lovatt pressed on the latter two fell back. Charlesworth and then Evans got up to the leaders, after which Cassidy started to weaken.

With the leaders now on the descent, the Meathman did what he could to get back on terms. He was 100 metres back and closing when they rounded a dangerously sharp bend; the wet roads made a difficult corner even more treacherous, and both Charleworth and Cassidy overshot the turn and ended up in the ditch. Seconds later, Urquhart and Andresen did likewise, leaving Lovatt and Evans alone up front.

Following a stunned pause, the two Yorkshire – Trinity Capital riders knuckled down to the task at hand. Going through Templederry with 19 kilometres to go, they had a minute and fifteen seconds over the GB – Recycling.co.uk-led main field. This gap plummeted to just 23 seconds with ten kilometres remaining, and by the three kilometres point they were in big trouble with just nine seconds of a lead left. Evans blew a kilometres later, being subsequently caught and passed by the bunch, but Lovatt persisted and got with 100 metres of the line before being overhauled. That paved the way for a 110 rider bunch sprint and Elliott's fine win.

Newton was second while King of the mountains leader Eugene Moriarty (Meath – Cycleways.com) was third, one place ahead of fellow Irishman Paul Healion (Dublin – Usher Insulations). Morten Hegreberg (Norway – Sparebanken Vest) and Yanto Barker (Wales Stena Line) were next home.

Crash victims Cassidy and Charleworth came home towards the rear of the bunch while the other fallers, Bell and Urquhardt, were 3 minutes 13 seconds and 19 minutes 12 seconds back respectively. Also cut and bruised was Kevin Dawson (Yorkshire – Trinity Capital. He hit a pothole and suffered a deep gash to his nee. The multiple British time trial champion remounted and finished in the bunch, preserving his eighth place overall, but it is unsure if he will continue tomorrow.

In terms of the overall classification, today's bunch sprint meant that there was little change at the top. Newton continues to hold an eight second advantage over Elliott, while Hegreberg is a further two minutes and eight seconds back. Rob Sharman's (GB – Recycling.co.uk) better placing on the stage means he moves ahead of leading Irish rider Tim Barry (Tipperary Dan Morrissey), the latter dropping a place to fifth, but both are on the same time. Barker is sixth with Gabriel Rasch (Norway – Sparebanken Vest) seventh. Newton continues to lead the points classification despite Elliott's win today, while Moriarty stays on top in the King of the Mountains competition.

"I didn't feel totally great today," said Elliott after the podium presentation. "There were time when things felt harder than they should have. When Recycling were chasing the break, I said to myself 'my legs feel heavy today'. I was happy when that break got clear as it meant that Recycling had to do some work, so that was good in keeping them occupied. We had two guys out of seven up there, which are good odds, but when things whittled down and the others came back one by one, it was a dream scenario. I think at that point Recycling would probably have been happy to hold them out there because they were not a threat to the overall. But then it was just that little bit too far and they didn't have quite enough of a lead. A few other teams started coming up and pitching in – why I don't know, it was a bit of a mystery. There were some teams there at the front and you would think 'ok, what are they doing that for?'

"But, that is racing. Unfortunately our two guys were caught right at the end. I actually would have preferred if they got one and two on the stage, but winning the sprint was a good relief. It was a weight off my shoulders to get a stage win.

"Things were a bit different today. Chris (Newton) led out from quite a way, so I just had to choose my moment to come around him, really. It was relatively straightforward, really. It is always a bit choppy on the run-in here, there are guys coming up and trying to get involved in the sprint who maybe aren't particularly fast. You just think 'get out of the way!' It just makes things a bit complicated."

Eugene Moriarty, KOH leader and third on the stage said, "Today was good for me. I haven't seen the final points tally after today but I still have the jersey, which was the main thing. Anyone who was close to me on the classification this morning didn't get any points, so the ball is still in my court. Tomorrow will be a rough day so if anyone did impinge on my lead, they should be a bit tired one tomorrow.

"I should be relatively fresh and I am obviously sprinting very well. I was a bit disappointed with my sprint today, even though I was against some very fast guys. I got boxed in twice inside the last 500 metres, but I definitely think it bodes well for the rest of the week.

"I am delighted with the way I am going. I haven't really been able to train properly since before Easter because I have been having a lot of knee trouble. I have been going well in the Rás, so a lot of people have been scratching their heads with regards to me having the mountains jersey.

"I am happy enough going into tomorrow's climbs. I couldn't have asked for things to be better today – I did a lot of racing in the first 25 miles today but then settled back and took it easier. Everybody is getting a bit tired at this point, you would be superhuman if you didn't feel it, but I think it bodes well. I am relatively fresh. I am looking around the bunch and there are a lot of guys in trouble. But I don't seem to be – touch wood – like that, I haven't hit a bad day yet so hopefully things will keep going to plan."

Paul Healion, fourth on the stage was, "very happy with today's result. It is my best showing in the Rás to date, so to be up here on the podium is great."

1 Malcolm Elliott (GBr) Trinity Capital 4.02.58
2 Chris Newton (GBr) Recycling.co.uk
3 Eugene Moriarty (Irl) cycleways.com
4 Paul Healion (Irl) Usher Insulations
5 Morten Hegreberg (Nor) Sparebanken Vest
6 Yanto Barker (GBr) Stena
7 Sigvard Kukk (Est) Kalev Chocolate
8 Arne Hinrichsen (Ger) Stevens von Hacht
9 John Tanner (GBr) Trinity Capital
10 Rostislav Krotky (Cze) Elmarco KK

General classification after stage 4

1 Chris Newton (GBr) Recycling.co.uk 14.37.22
2 Malcolm Elliott (GBr) Trinity Capital 0.08
3 Morten Hegreberg (Nor) Sparebanken Vest 2.16
4 Robin Sharman (GBr) Recycling.co.uk 2.32
5 Tim Barry (Irl) Dan Morrissey
6 Yanto Barker (GBr) Stena 2.37
7 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Sparebanken Vest
8 Kevin Dawson (GBr) Trinity Capital 3.04
9 Conor Murphy (Irl) Grant Thornton 5.01
10 Stuart Gillespie (USA) TIAA-CREF 5.11

Points classification

1 Chris Newton (GBr) Recycling.co.uk 56 pts
2 Malcolm Elliott (GBr) Trinity Capital 53
3 Morten Hegreberg (Nor) Sparebanken Vest 40
4 Yanto Barker (GBr) Stena 29
5 John Tanner (GBr) Trinity Capital 25
6 Tim Barry (Irl) Dan Morrissey 23
7 Robin Sharman (GBr) Recycling.co.uk 21
8 Evan Oliphant (GBr) Scotland 20
9 Kevin Dawson (GBr) Trinity Capital 17
10 Sigvard Kukk (Est) Kalev Chocolate 17