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Tiernan Locke Wins, Cassidy Fourth, Wetterhall Hold Onto Yellow
By
May 27, 2010, 16:07
British rider Jon Tiernan-Locke showed his climbing skills when he raced to victory on today’s fifth stage of the FBD Insurance Rás. The Rapha Condor Sharp competitor attacked on the final climb of Seskin Hill and reached the finish line nine seconds clear of compatriot Peter Williams (Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta). Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM-Gebrüder Weis) was a further five seconds back in third.
“There was seven of us together coming to the hill,” Tiernan Locke said shortly after getting his breath back. “I neutralised a few attacks and then I got on the front. I thought it might be too early but it was so steep I thought I’d just go for it, don’t look back until I’d dropped them.
“I was feeling confident about the hill. On my day I can sprint, although I did not do it yesterday when I came in at the back of the break. I’m mainly a climber, though, so I was quite confident.”
Mark Cassidy (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) came in for fourth on the stage, being best-placed Irish rider. He was 19 second back and appears to be getting stronger as the race goes on.
These four were all part of a large breakaway group which was sparked off when John Anderson (Sweden - Team Sprocket Pro) attacked 93 kilometres into the stage. He was joined by 19 others, which comprised the first three riders on the stage, several strong international competitors including Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM-Gebrüder Weis), who started the day third overall, plus Irish riders Cassidy, Stephen Gallagher (Britain Sigmasport Specialized), Neil Delahaye (Ireland Subway National Team), Stephen Surdival (Mayo Castlebar Western Edge ) and Timothy O'Regan (Meath Engraveit.ie/Jade.ie).
This group built a maximum lead of almost four minutes, then strong chasing behind started to bring the gap back down.
Appproximately 12 kilometres from the finish, the front group split and nine riders surged forward, hunting for the stage win. They were Kugler, Tiernan-Locke, Cassidy, Williams, Tobyn Horton (Sweden - Team Sprocket Pro), Marc Ryan (New Zealand), Pieter Ghyllebert (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), David Pell (Australia Drapac Porsche) and Bastian Burgel (Germany Thuringer Energie).
Tiernan Locke then attacked this group on the final climb of Seskin Hill, jetting clear and taking what was his third international win of the year. Kugler came home 14 seconds back and then faced a nervous wait to see if he would take over the race lead or not.
Wetterhall gave it everything on the hill and finished as one of the first riders from the bunch, taking 20th. He finished one minute 52 seconds back and after the calculations were made, was told he had retained the lead by just eight seconds. Kugler is next in line, with Peter Williams (Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta) 59 seconds back in third.
Anderson and Pell are next, while Connor McConvey (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) remains best of the Irish riders in sixth place. He is one minute 45 seconds behind Wetterhall, and is likely to give it everything in the three remaining stages.
Tomorrow’s leg features more climbing, with the riders facing seven categorised hills and 127 kilometres en route to Gorey. This includes the first category climb of Corabutt, which will further help to split things up.
[more later]
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FBD Insurance Rás, Ireland (2.2, May 23 – 30th)
Stage 5, Tipperary – Seskin Hill (Carrick on Suir)
1, Jon Tiernan-Locke (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) 3 hours 35 mins 47 secs
2, Peter Williams (Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta) at 9 secs
3, Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM-Gebrüder Weis) at 14 secs
4, Mark Cassidy (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 19 secs
5, Pieter Ghyllebert (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) same time
6, Marc Ryan (New Zealand) at 25 secs
7, John Degenkolb (Germany Thuringer Energie) at 37 secs
8, Tobyn Horton (Sweden - Team Sprocket Pro) at 44 secs
9, David Pell (Australia Drapac Porsche) at 52 secs
10, Bastian Burgel (Germany Thuringer Energie) at 1 min 24 secs
General classification after 5 stages:
1, Alexander Wetterhall (Sweden - Team Sprocket Pro) 14 hours 45 mins 30 secs
2, Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM-Gebrüder Weis) at 8 secs
3, Peter Williams (Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta) at 59 secs
4, John Anderson (Sweden - Team Sprocket Pro) at 1 min 28 secs
5, David Pell (Australia Drapac Porsche) at 1 min 34 secs
6, Connor McConvey (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 45 secs
7, Jon Tiernan-Locke (Britain Rapha Condor Sharp) same time
8, Joseph Lewis (Australia Drapac Porsche) at 1 min 46 secs
9, Rob Partridge (Wales) at 1 min 49 secs
10, Stuart Shaw (Australia Drapac Porsche) same time
Under 23:
1, Connor McConvey (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 14 hours 47 mins 15 secs
2, Joseph Lewis (Australia Drapac Porsche) at 1 secs
3, Mark McNally (Belgium An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 47 secs
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