CYCLING NEWS:QUADRUPLE TOUR de France stage-winner Jaan Kirsipuu showed he still has the goods at 39 years of age when he sped to victory on yesterday's third stage of the FBD Rás in Cahirciveen.
The Estonian rider with the Norway Giant Veoila team out-sprinted three breakaway companions at the end of the race’s longest stage, a marathon 188.6 kilometre trek from Cobh which took in two first-category climbs.
Kirsipuu beat former world track champion and Olympic medallist Chris Newton (Britain Rapha Condor), David McCann (Ireland National Team) and Brian Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC) to the line.
It is his first time at the race but Newton, McCann and Kenneally have all won multiple stages in the past. Newton has also won the FBD Rás twice, in 2003 and 2005, while McCann triumphed in 2004.
“I’m very happy to have the opportunity to race here again,” said Kirsipuu.
“I competed in the Tour de France when it started in Ireland in 1998 but didn’t have a chance to see much of it then.
“I’m not racing with ProTour teams any more as I got tired of the constant pressure to win.
“Now I am enjoying the sport a lot more and travelling to countries that I didn’t get to see much before.”
McCann didn’t get the stage win but had something to show for his efforts, placing first and then second on the category-one Coom and Coomakista climbs and taking over the pink jersey of King of the Mountains leader.
“My goal was to go for the mountains and that worked out,” he said.
“That meant I had to push hard for most of the stage, so I was a bit surprised to still be there at the end and fighting it out for the stage win.”
Kenneally was particularly aggressive in the finale, attempting to jump away as he knew that the three other riders in the break were faster than him if it came to a sprint.
“I clipped away just before the kilometre to go sign and also with about 500 metres to go, but both times Kirsipuu brought me back,” he said.
“We had put him under pressure earlier on when on a climb, but he was very strong at the end of the stage. He brought me back both times, led out the sprint and still won. He was very impressive.”
Overnight race leader Ian Wilkinson had got across to a long-running breakaway group containing McCann with approximately 55 kilometres remaining. Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) and Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken), second and third overall, were also there, but all three missed out when the group split again before the final climb and eight riders pressed ahead.
Kirsipuu, Newton, McCann and Kenneally then made their move out of this group, leaving Niko Eeckhout (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Seán Kelly), Russell Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls), Laurent Didier (Denmark Designa Kokken) and Conor Murphy (Dublin IRC Usher Insulations) to take placings five through to eight.
Wilkinson ultimately finished at the head of the main bunch, one minute and 39 seconds back, and Richardson plus Christensen were also in that group.
Their dominant display yesterday meant that they had a considerable buffer starting the stage, and their places in the top three were not threatened.
Newton and McCann have edged into the top 10 and are five minutes 48 seconds and six minutes 28 seconds back respectively; there’s still a lot to do, but they have shown Richardson that they are capable of taking time out of him.
The 2.2-ranked FBD Rás continues today with another tough mountainous stage.
It runs 178 kilometres from Cahirciveen to Killorglin and includes five category-three climbs plus the first-category Conor Pass.
Tour details Cobh to Cahirciveen
STAGE THREE:1, Jaan Kirsipuu (Norway Giant-Veolia), 188.6 kilometres in 4 hours 42 mins 23 secs; 2, C. Newton (Britain Rapha Condor); 3, D. McCann (Ireland National Team), both same time; 4, B. Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC), at 4 secs; 5, N. Eeckhout (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), at 51 secs; 6, R. Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls); 7, L. Didier (Denmark Designa Kokken), both same time; 8, C. Murphy (Dublin IRC Ushers Insulations), at 1 min 23 secs; 9, J. Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers), at 1 min 27 secs; 10, S. De Weerdt (Australia Cinelli-Down Under), at 1 min 40 secs.County rider: 1, Brian Kenneally, 4 hours 42 mins 27 secs. KOM Primes: Category 3, Coolavokig, 71.9km: 1, Pete Williams (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) 5pts. Category 1, The Coom, 88.4km: 1, David McCann (Ireland National Team) 15pts. Category 1, Coomakista (164.8km): 1, Laurent Didier (Denmark Designa Kokken) 15pts. International team: 1, Britain Rapha Condor, 14 hours 10 mins 47 secs.; County team: 1, Dublin IRC Usher Insulations, 14 hours 12 mins 10 secs.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION:1, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut), 12 hours 33 mins 30 secs; 2, S. Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor), at 19 secs; 3, M. Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken), at 3 mins 8 secs; 4, J. Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers), at 3 mins 21 secs; 5, D. Lapthorne (Britain Rapha Condor), at 3 mins 43 secs; 6, R. Jogert (Norway Giant-Veolia); 7, B. Roesems (Australia Cinelli-Down Under), both same time; 8, O. Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant-Veolia), at 3 mins 54 secs; 9, Newton, at 5 mins 48 secs; 10, McCann, at 6 mins 28 secs; 11, Downing, at 6 mins 31 secs; 12, A. Gottfried (Germany Kuota-Indeland), at 7 mins 2 secs; 13, J. Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo), at 7 mins 3 secs;
POINTS:1, Russell Downing (Britain CandiTV – Marshall's Pasta)28; 2, Kirsipuu, 26; 3, Eeckhout, 26; 4, Wilkinson, 25; 5, Richardson, 19. Mountains: 1, David McCann (Ireland national team)30 pts; 2, Williams, 30; 3, Didier, 15; 4, Richardson, 12; 5, Christensen, 11. Under-23: 1, Ole Jorgen Jensen (Norway Giant-Veolia), 12 hours 37 mins 24 secs. CI Category 2: 1, Daniel Clifford (Kildare Projector World), 12 hours 43 mins 14 secs. County rider: 1, Stephen OSullivan (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC), 12 hours 41 mins 21 secs. County team: 1, Dublin IRC Usher Insulations, 38 hours 5 mins 25 secs.
