53rd FBD Insurance Rás - 2.2
29-May-2005
Stage 8 - May 29: Phoenix Park Circuit, 50 km <Main Page > <Previous Stage> Moore swoops to unexpected win, Newton takes second Ras title
FBD Insurance Rás leader Chris Newton made history today when he became the first overseas rider ever to win two editions of the race. The GB-Recycling.co.uk rider finished safely in the main bunch on the final stage, a one hour circuit race in the Phoenix Park, thus preserving his 14 second advantage over former Tour of Spain points jersey winner Malcolm Elliott. 32 year-old Irishman Bill Moore shocked the sprint specialists when he thundered to an excellent win, using his experience of racing on the Phoenix Park circuit to jump at exactly the right time and hold on until the line. The Meath-M. Donnelly rider beat Julian Winn (Wales-Stena Line) and stage 7 winner Morten Hegreberg (Norway-Sparebanken Vest) plus the 153 other riders left in the race to take his best ever career result. Moore racked up an estimated 10,000 miles of training in South Africa over the winter in order to chase his dream of a stage win in the Rás. He made a big effort on yesterday's gruelling mountain stage to Wicklow town, going clear with eight others approximately 100 kilometres from the finish. When he was brought back on the penultimate climb he thought he had lost out on his chance of winning a Rás stage; little did he know that 24 hours later he'd be standing on the podium as the day's winner. As expected, today's final stage had no effect on the general classification. Newton, an Olympic medallist and world champion on the track, did not contest the sprint but came home in the same time as all his rivals. Elliott had problems with his gears and was then barged in the sprint, losing several spokes, but in finishing ahead of Newton and close enough to Hegreberg he sewed up the points title. Lovatt took the mountains jersey, while Tim Barry was best Irishman in sixth place. The top international team was Yorkshire-Trinity Capital and Barry's Tipperary Dan Morrissey squad were first county team. The unexpected nature of his win meant that Moore was probably the happiest rider on the podium, though. "This is my tenth Rás and 101st stage, and I am absolutely delighted. I trained and raced in South Africa since last year in order to chase my dream of a Rás stage win. I tried hard on Saturday but when it didn't work out, I thought I had lost my chance. There was no pressure on me today as a result. I picked my moment perfectly and it worked out great." How it unfolded While things were pretty tight between race leader Chris Newton and closest rival Malcolm Elliott, a change in the yellow jersey would be hard to effect today. Fourteen seconds separated the two and, with the points jersey up for grabs, Elliott was probably more likely to concentrate on repeating his final-stage victory of twelve months ago. The riders began just after three o'clock, with Chris Newton's GB-Recycling.co.uk team, the Norway-Sparebanken Vest squad and the Wales-Stena Line riders doing most of the pace setting. Things were destined to remain largely together, with a high pace dissuading attackers. Four Cycleways primes were up for grabs before the stage conclusion, and on lap three the first of these went to Eugene Moriarty (Meath-Cycleways.com). The Listowel rider jumped away just before the line, finishing about a second clear of Kristian House (Britain-Fujibikes) and his team-mate Aidan Crowley. The second sprint three laps later went to Richard Kooijman (Netherlands-Kennemerland), the Dutchman beating Thornsten Wiedenroth (Germany-Stevens von Hacht) by about half a bike length. Two laps later Kristian House (Britain-Fujibikes) took a flyer in search of the third bonus sprint, and successfully held off the chasing effort of second-year senior Mark Cassidy (Meath-Cycleways.com) to do so. Cassidy was caught before the line with Dave Reilly (Dublin IRC Moy Isover) and Tommy Evans (Yorkshire-Trinity Capital) slightly clear and trying to get across to House. Following their recapture, Ian Paine (Dublin Excel Ravens) tried to get away but was reeled in pretty quickly. Another Irishman, Simon Kelly (Cork Nucleus) took the final prime, ahead of Reilly. That left just the final sprint to be decided, prompting Chris McNamara (Surrey Racing League) to try his hand. However, the Norway-Sparebanken Vest and the GB-Recycling.co.uk had things under control, bringing every breakaway attempt to heel. With two laps to go 2001 winner Paul Manning was on the front, apparently setting things up for Newton. The yellow jersey was prominent near the front, as was Elliott. Newton might have been expected to save his effort for the sprint, but with one lap to go he led the bunch through, concentration etched all over his face. Winn was next in line, eager to salvage something after losing his KOM jersey yesterday. While the race leader faded before the sprint, Winn was still very much in the thick of things, but a possible stage win was foiled by the perfectly-timed move of Bill Moore (Stamullen M. Donnelly), who used his knowledge of the circuit to best effect. He held onto his advantage to take what was his biggest ever win, while Winn, Hegreberg, Simon Kelly (Cork Nucleus) and Eugene Moriarty filled the top five. The overall contenders all finished in the same time, leading to a status quo in the general classification. The victory was Moore's first of the ten Rásanna he has done. He was, as expected, over the moon. "I think I was more surprised than anyone," he said, beaming. "I just got an opening just before the last corner. I knew from riding the races in the Park that if you sprint hard, hard, hard around that corner and keep going to the line, barring accident you might come out in front. I looked back with 100 metres to go and couldn't believe I had such a gap. "I didn't get clear of them at the corner, there were about ten riders ahead of me there but I just had the impetus from going around the corner and just kept going to the line. "This is a dream for me. I think I did 1,000 miles in December and January in South Africa for this. I thought yesterday was my day-I tried very, very hard to win then. Myself and Sean Lacey got up the road and I gave it everything. When I got caught on the Sally Gap, I thought I would have no chance to win one. So I had absolutely no pressure on myself today, just said I would give it everything. I came out on top...I am chuffed. This is my tenth Rás and my 101st stage. I would ride 101 again if I got to win another. This makes up for all the hardship, all the pain over the years. I am delighted." 1 Bill Moore (Irl) M Donnelly 1.01.14 |