CYCLING: A year after their squad had a rider in the top 10 and took third in the county team category of the FBD Milk Rás, it has been confirmed that Iarnrod Eireann will once again back a Dublin team in the round Ireland race next week.
Will Byrne, Sean Farrell, Dave Gardiner and Andrew Donnellan have all ridden well in recent events, with Byrne and Donnellan both placing in the top 10 in yesterday's Noel Hammond Memorial Classic League race. The fifth slot on the team will be filled by Swords rider John Peppard, replacing Mark Kiernan who has a chest infection.
The Iarnrod Eireann team are targeting the county team category prize as their main goal in the event.
Meanwhile, former champion Stefano Garzelli of Italy won the second stage of the prestigious Giro D'Italia. Garzelli's win in the 209km ride from Cologne, Germany, to Ans in Belgium saw the Mapei rider take the leader's pink jersey.
The Italian, winner of the 2000 Giro, won a mass sprint to pip compatriot Francesco Casagrande, who had led the decisive attack on the final, six-kilometre climb, to the line. Defending champion Gilberto Simoni struggled home 25 seconds behind the leaders.
