With just one stage remaining in the Tour of the Ardennes, Tommy Evans is faring best of the Irish team. The former national champion finished a fine fourth on yesterday's 106 km stage and retains the lead in the intermediate sprints competition which he seized on Saturday.

His Ireland team-mate Paddy Moriarty broke clear yesterday with seven kilometres to go and looked set to secure second place on the stage, but was recaptured with just two kilometres remaining, paving the way for Evans's fourth place.

Meanwhile, Eugene Moriarty of the Cycleways team is poised for victory with just today's 88 km stage of the Ras Mumhan remaining. Moriarty took the race lead on Saturday's 99-mile stage after going clear in a large breakaway group and placing third, minutes ahead of distanced Philip Cassidy and Mark Scanlon who had held first and second place overall.

Following Eddie O'Donoghue's win on Saturday, Martin O'Loughlin made it two for the Cidona Carrick team yesterday with an impressive victory at the end of the mountainous 92 mile second stage. O'Loughlin, Paul Griffin, Richard Cahill and Philip Cassidy went clear early in the race and held on to finish over one minute ahead of Mark Scanlon, while Moriarty finished in a chasing group to retain his 14-second lead over Cork's Tim Barry.

With just one stage remaining in the Dublin Skip three-day race at Gorey, Philip Ahern holds a fragile two-second lead over veteran rider Sean Bracken. Ahern had finished second behind Paudi O'Brien on Saturday's opening 65 mile race, but was outside the top 15 on yesterday morning's fourmile time-trial, won by Thomas Lavery of the Leinster team.

However, both Ahern and Bracken finished clear of Lavery in the 60 mile afternoon stage, won by Jonathan Gormley, and hold the first two places in the general classification. The race concludes today with a 60-mile leg from Gorey to Brittas.