Sam Bennett took today's final stage of the Rás into Skerries to add to his victory from stage 3 earlier in the week. He's seen here just after the feed station on stage 4 on the road to Glengarrif. (Photo: Adrian O'Connor - www.blackumbrellaphotography.com)
By Gerard Cromwell
Although they didn’t take overall victory this time around, with three stage wins in the bag the An Post Chainreaction team were happy with their haul from this year’s An Post Rás.
“I’m delighted,” said double stage winner Sam Bennett who took the win into Skerries today.
“I wasn’t expecting to get another one. There was a lot of pushing coming in the road so I was panicking a bit. Coming off the climb it split over the top and there were only three of us there but then Shane got back up to us.”
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“There was a bit of fighting going on but it was a great lead out from the team. We were starting to get swamped so I let a roar out of me and Ronan just hit the afterburners from about 3km out. Shane hit the front at 500m to go with Nicholas on his wheel. I didn’t know who was coming or what was happening. I didn’t know if Nicholas was going to keep it until the line so I went for it. It’s a good end to the week.”
Having had Sean Downey covering the early moves and then riding on the front to bring the break back as the race traversed the final two circuits in Skerries, the postmen got their lead-out train in gear after the final climb.
“We had a plan that we wanted to bring Shane first into the last corner and the three boys would go for the line,” said Ronan McLaughlin.
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“Just before we came into Skerries I did a big effort before the tunnel to make sure we didn’t get swamped. And then the boys did the rest. Sean did a massive ride today, went in all the early moves and then rode down the break on the finishing circuit. Basically I only had to do one kilometre hard today and the boys had to do 300m, so it was perfect teamwork.”
With Archbold and Bennett both having taken stage wins before today, team manager Kurt Bogaerts left it up to Vereeken and Bennett to sprint for today’s final stage.
“Kurt just decided that Nicholas and Sam could fight for the sprint so I was pretty much in charge of getting the two of them to the line and they could race for first or second or whatever it was. But it was such a good lead out that we got first, second and third so we can’t complain,” said Archbold.
“To get three stage wins and to get first, second and third on the last stage; you don’t see that ever, even at club racing. It’s a pretty rare thing.”
Although they didn’t repeat their previous overall victories of Stephen Gallagher and Gediminas Bagdonas, Bogaerts too was happy with his week.
“From the beginning of the week we said we were going for stage wins. We had a really good team to go for sprints and stage victories. I was a little bit lucky this week because Shane is a really strong rider. He’s a strong sprinter but he’s a really, really good lead-out man.”
“He won early in the week and from that point he said ‘I’m going to do the lead-outs and let Sam and Nicholas sprint’. Today we said Shane would do the lead-out with Nicholas and then Sam in his wheel and with Shane in the lead-out it makes it easy. I’m really happy to finish this off like this.”
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