CYCLING/Tour stage four: What a stage. Yesterday's fourth day of the FBD Insurance Rás saw yet another upheaval of the general classification, with Irish road race champion David O'Loughlin (Ireland Grant Thornton) jumping from seventh to second overall and ending the day just one tantalising second off the yellow jersey.
Meanwhile, the former Rás champion Ciarán Power (Éireann Dan Morrissey) scooped the stage win he was looking for, riding with confidence and strength on the 150-kilometre leg from An Daingean to Listowel and easily outsprinting his breakaway companion Lukasz Modzelewski (Poland Legia Bazylisek) to the line.
Power had come into the event underraced because of the surgery he had undergone earlier this year to correct a blood-flow problem that had dogged him ever since he finished 13th in the Olympic road race in Athens in 2004. He returned to competition less than a month ago, and so winning a stage while still building racing condition is an excellent augury.
"I am thrilled to get the win as this is one of my first races back after an operation earlier this year," he said.
"It was a fantastic day. We were away early on and then the main contenders came across to us. I still had some legs and I managed to get away in the last few kilometres with a Polish rider, holding him off in the sprint."
O'Loughlin was in a group of five riders who were 24 seconds behind with some 10 kilometres remaining. The Irish road champion attacked out of this group and rode strongly all the way to the line, finishing just a couple of seconds adrift of Power and Modzelewski and 14 seconds clear of Danny Pate (USA TIAA-CREF).
When the general classification was calculated, that left him one second away from the former world under-23 time-trial champion in the overall standings, but the Mayoman was not particularly upset.
"It is better not to have the jersey yet, definitely," he said. "It's very hard to defend, especially as there are some tough stages ahead. We'll see how it goes over the next few days."
Power had gone away in a seven-man group in the earlier part of the stage, then was joined by 12 chasers just before the category one climb of the Maum, about 28 kilometres from the finish.
The group contained six of the top eight riders, although the race leader, Mike Friedman (USA TIAA-CREF), and the defending FBD Rás champion, Chris Newton (Britain Recycling.co.uk), lying second overall, missed out and would finish nearly eight minutes down.
Among the contenders present were Pate, Tommy Evans (Dublin IRC Usher Insulations), Morten Hegreberg (Norway Sparebanken Vest), Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group), O'Loughlin and Newton's team-mate Kristian House (Britain Recycling.co.uk).
Also riding well were other Irishmen such as John McCarthy (Kerry Earl of Desmond), Michael Fitzgerald (Cork Murray Ford Developments), Ray Clarke (Éireann Dan Morrissey) and Conor Murphy, who sacrificed his chances of a high stage placing to help his team-mate O'Loughlin.
Power and O'Loughlin took first and third on the stage, while Evans was fifth and now lies third overall, seven seconds off yellow. Kelly is sixth, one minute back.
Two days ago the Irish challenge seemed in big trouble; now, heading into today's 178-kilometre stage from Kilrush to An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe), things are looking a whole lot more promising.
Stage 4 (An Daingean to Listowel): 1, Ciarán Power (Éireann Dan Morrissey) 149.8 kilometres in 3 hours 42 mins 42 secs; 2, L Modzelewski (Poland Legia Bazylisek) at 1 sec; 3, D O'Loughlin (Ireland Grant Thornton ) at 4 secs; 4, T Evans (Dublin IRC Usher Insulations) at 18 secs; 5, D Pate (USA TIAA-CREF); 6, K House (Britain Recycling.co.uk); 7, M Hegreberg (Norway Sparebanken Vest) all same time; 8, C Stevenson (Australia FRF Couriers) at 1 min 3 secs; 9, G Reian (Germany Stevens); 10, J McCarthy (Kerry Earl of Desmond); 11, M Fitzgerald (Cork Murray Ford Developments); 12, M Lovatt (Britain Doncaster Stena Line); 13, S Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group); 14, R Clarke (Éireann Dan Morrissey); 15, P Herzig (Australia FRF Couriers) all same time
General classification: 1, Danny Pate (USA TIAA-CREF) 15 hours 49 mins 13 secs; 2, D O'Loughlin (Ireland Grant Thornton) at 1 sec; 3, T Evans (Dublin IRC Usher Insulations) at 7 secs; 4, M Hegreberg (Norway Sparebanken Vest) same time; 5, K House (Britain Recycling.co.uk) at 15 secs; 6, S Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group) at 1 min; 7, P Herzig (Australia FRF Couriers) at 1 min 16 secs; 8, W Randle (Britain Doncaster Stena Line) at 4 mins 45 secs; 9, G Reian (Germany Stevens) at 6 mins 24 secs; 10, R Sharman (Britain Recycling.co.uk) at 6 mins 52 secs; 11, M Friedman (USA TIAA-CREF) at 7 mins 9 secs; 12, C Power (Éireann Dan Morrissey) at 7 min 29 secs; 13, C Newton (Britain Recycling.co.uk) at 7 mins 31 secs; 14, B Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie Cycleways.com) at 7 mins 47 secs; 15, J McCarthy (Kerry Earl of Desmond) at 7 mins 49 secs.
