Adam Ward (Team Ireland) has taken the biggest win of his career at the end of stage 3 of Rás Tailteann into Lisdoonvarna, with compatriot Daire Feeley (Cork VeloRevolution) taking 2nd place and the race lead.
Luke Smith (Meath Moynalty CC), an U23 Irish international rider, underline his class by making the stage-long breakaway today and claiming 3rd place. He was best of the breakaway men who had been with Feeley and Ward and survived out front after the eventual stage winner and runner-up attacked the escape.
That duo of Ward and Feeley were part of a nine-man breakaway that went clear very early on the 172km wet stage out of the Newcastlewest. Just before the climbs of The Burren, at 150km, and Corkscrew Hill, at 162km, Feeley and Ward took off from the breakaway, which still had an advantage of well over three minutes at that point.
Advertisement
Ward claimed the stage victory and Feeley - who was also in the day-long breakaway on yesterday's stage 2 - goes into the race leader's jersey, based on provisional gaps at the time of writing.
On the Corkscrew climb, the remains of the main peloton split to pieces with yesterday's stage winner and yellow jersey, Louis Sutton (Brocar Ale) in the strongman's group that emerged from the bunch over two minutes down on the two leaders with 10km to go.
At that point of the race, six men who had been in the breakaway with Feeley and Ward were still chasing them, and still ahead of the yellow jersey group.
Feeley, who placed 6th yesterday after being in the breakaway with Sutton, had started the stage in 8th place overall and 1:01 down on the race leader meaning he was virtual yellow jersey, and riding for time all the way, when he got up the road today.
A small two-second gap opened between the Ward and Feeley at the finish, with Smith 1:07 back in 3rd. He was with James McKay (Cycling Sheffield), who took 4th just one second behind Smith. In 5th came Conor Hennebry; the Carlow Dan Morrissey man putting in a great ride today and finishing 1:10 down on Ward.
In 6th came Darnell Moore (Cycling Ulster), at 1:14 and on the same time as 7th placed Josh Housley (Britain Spirit BSS) and 8th placed Joseph Rees (Britain Embark-Bikestrong).
Then came a brace of riders who managed to give the bunch the slip in the finale, thus confirming how strong they are with three stages in the legs. Rory Townsend (Team Ireland) was 9th at 1:34 and George Kimber (Britain Spirit BSS) in 10th at 1:50.
Just four seconds after he finished came the bunch – numbering just 33 riders. Dena Harvey of Team Ireland, who was in the climbers’ jersey today, took the bunch kick for 11th, with Matteo Cigala (Carlow Dan Morrissey) in 12th.
Feeley now leads overall by 51 seconds from Sutton; the young British rider still well in contention, and also still leading the young rider classification. Ward is ow up to 3rd overall at 1:06 while Townsend is 4th at 1:29. Mathew Teggart (Cycling Ulster), who won stage 1 and held the yellow jersey yesterday, is 5th at 1:40 while Smith is now 6th at 1:41.
Townsend leads the points classification on 20 points with Teggart 2nd on 26 points and new race leader Feeley 3rd on 24 points. The mountains classification is also now led by Feeley, on 22 points with Harvey 2nd on 14 points and Ward 3rd on 13 points.
Sutton leads the young rider classification from by 15 seconds from Ward. The man who wore that leader’s jersey today, Matthew Devins (Trinity Racing) sadly crashed out of the race today.
How it unfolded
Today's stage from Newcastlewest to Lisdoonvarna was always going to be an epic - that's how it looked on paper and it didn't disappoint. The 172km distance, with the climbs of the Burren and Corksrew Hill in the back end of the stage, suited the strongest riders.
And when the heavens opened on the road today, it simply threw an additional element into the mix that was going to separate the true contenders for the final yellow jersey from the rest of the pack.
Related News
As the main field raced down the N21, at 60kmph, just after the start of the stage the rain was already falling. And after a first breakaway of six formed only to be recaptured, the breakaway that would dominate the stage was next to get clear.
They settled into sharing the work load and their advantage quickly grew to one minute and then 1:30, before it simply continued to climb north of four minutes for a prolonged period.
In that breakaway were: Adam Ward (Team Ireland), James McKay (Cycling Sheffield), Josh Housley (Spirit BSS), Joseph Rees (Spirit BSS), Daire Feeley (Cork Velo Revolution), Darnell Moore (Cycling Ulster), Conor Hennebry (Carlow Dan Morrissey), Devin Shortt (Carlow Dan Morrissey) and Luke Smith (Moynalty CC).
All six of the Irish riders in the move have worn the green of Ireland at some stage in their career; a detail that underlined the quality that was combining to ride away from the main field containing yellow jersey Louis Sutton and his Spanish Brocar-Ale team.
After 60km of racing today the advantage enjoyed by the breakaway had gone out to 2:20 and Feeley was virtual yellow jersey on the road, by a considerable margin. He had started the stage in 8th overall some 1:01 down on race leader Sutton.
With almost 80km covered, the leading group was still together, the rain continuing to fall and the gap continuing to grow - up 3:25. As the breakaway neared Ennis the rain got heavier. The gap was up to four minutes when the leaders passed through the town and had 50km still to race; staying that way for a long time.
However, the harmony in the breakaway couldn't last forever and as the Burren climb approached the attacks began up front, with Team Ireland's Ward and VeloRevolution's yellow jersey on the road, Feeley, getting clear.
As they began the Cat 3 climb of The Burren, with 150km covered, that duo had 22 seconds over the chasers, down by one man to six, with 25km to go. At the top of the climb that gap had upped to 27 seconds, but the advantage over the peloton - which was thinning back by the kilometre - was way down; from over four minutes to 2:50.
As the two leaders then raced up the climb of Corkscrew, with 161km covered and just 10km to go, the main field exploded behind them; Feeley taking maximum points at the top from Ward.
As that duo passed the 10km to go marker, the gap back to the first chasing group was 1:00, the section of the bunch with the yellow jersey was 2:30 and the second large bunch on the road was over five minutes back.
And that's largely how it stayed until the 5km to go marker; the yellow jersey, by now riding on the front, failing to make any significant inroads into the two leaders, or the chasing group, though the gap had come down a little; about 20 seconds.
In the final kilometres, as Feeley knew he was likely going into the yellow jersey, he was riding for time, with Ward then jumping him. Feeley appeared unable to responded; Ward racing in for his biggest career win and Feeley taking 2nd and the race lead, with Smith rounding on the podium, a great result.
More to come.
