Stage 1 – Sunday, May 20: Naas – Templemore + 1 lap of circuit, 157 km
Naas, Newbridge Hot Spot Sprint, The Curragh, Kildare, Monasterevin, Portarlington Hot Spot Sprint, Mountmellick Hot Spot Sprint, Rosenallis, Clonaslee, The Cut Category 2 KOM, Mountrath, Borris-in-Ossory, Roscrea By-Pass, Templemore, Bouladuff, Borrisoleigh, Templemore.
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11.55: Good morning and welcome to stage one of the 2007 FBD Insurance Rás. The riders are lining out in Naas for the start of the first stage, which takes them 157 kilometres to Templemore. This includes one lap of a finishing circuit.
It’s sunny here in Naas, and about 17 degrees or so. There are some clouds in the sky so it could get a bit darker. Irish weather is a bit of a lottery…
11.58: A big thanks to FBD Insurance, who in addition to sponsoring the race are also providing backing for the Live Updates. It’s the third year they have done so and makes this coverage possible. Thanks too to Anto Moran of Ravens CRT, who is providing technical support again this year.
12.00: The riders have moved out of Naas and are now heading (at neutralised pace) towards Newbridge, where the first hot spot sprint will take place. It’s very early in the stage and so will ensure a hectic start to things.
12.08: The race has now officially started, with 145 riders moving off. This first hot spot sprint is after 11.7 kilometres so it’s gonna be flat out until then…
Stephen Gallagher of the Ireland - Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team was looking chirpy this morning. He’s just finished a two week training camp in the Pyrenees and is hoping to go well here. “I haven’t raced in a while but I’ve got some good training in,” he said.
12.12: Scott McDonald (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC) has been in very good form this year and is back riding the Rás. “The last time I was this weight was 1993,” he said, speaking about his fitness.
McDonald runs WinningSolutions.ie, providing coaching to cyclists and other athletes
12.14: Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) has attacked. He is soon joined by Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands), Simon Kelly (Ireland - Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes) and Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada).
This group has approximately 12 seconds on the main field.
12.16: They have been joined by Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) but he then blows up and loses contact. The gap is seven seconds back to the main field.
The riders are now getting close to Newbridge.
12.18: The gap is up to 24 seconds.
12.23: The leaders have 30 seconds and have been joined by neutral service.
12.25: The gap drops to 24 seconds. So the break isn’t really pulling away, but the riders concerned are likely to fight it out for the first hot spot sprint. This could prove important later on as there are bonus seconds at stake.
12.26: After Newbridge the race will cross the Curragh, distinctive flat plains between that town and Kildare. Part of the film Braveheart was shot here. This area is well known for its horse-racing connections; the National Stud is nearby, too.
12.29: Brendan Brooks (Australia FRF Couriers) is chasing alone.
12.34: He is closing up to the break.
The results of the first sprint are as follows:
Hot spot sprint, Newbridge:
1, Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate)
2, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands)
3, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery
Brooks doesn’t get across, but Pavek rejoins the group.
12.38: To recap, the six leaders are:
Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands), Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donelly Sean Kelly), Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha), Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes), Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) and Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery).
There are two chasers: Dermot Nally (Ireland) and Kelly’s team-mate Glenn Bak.
12.42: Nally and Danish rider Bak are at 12 seconds.
12.46: The main field is now 35 seconds back. Nally and Bak didn't get across, so now Martyn Irvine (Ireland) is driving the pace of the peloton, which is lined out. It’s quite windy here.
12.48: The gap is 30 seconds.
Bear with us when there is a gap in updates – takes a while to sort out the numbers and see exactly who is who!
12.50: There is a big stall in the main field, with the gap jumping up to 45 seconds.
12.56: The gap is 55 seconds.
Multiple Canadian national champion Mark Walters (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) and Rory Wyley (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) are chasing at 28 seconds. Three other riders are at 35 seconds, but the main field is coming back at this latter group.
13.07: The gap is now 34 seconds. We are ahead of the race and so are not sure if Walters and Wyley got across. It’s likely that they were caught.
13.08: Dominique Perras (USA Kelly Benefit Strategies) is now chasing on his own.
13.10: The riders covered 26.5 miles in the first hour of racing.
13.12: Perras is 50 seconds behind, with the bunch slipping further back.
The peloton is 1’15 off the leaders.
13.20: Perras has been joined by Martyn Irvine (Ireland) and Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Development). The three chasers are over a minute back, with the peloton now two minutes down.
13.25: We have got the results of the second hot spot sprint:
Hot Spot Sprint in Mountmellick (51.1 kilometres):
1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands)
2, Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha)
3, Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly)
13.40: The chasers are 1 minute 45 seconds back, with the peloton now 3 minutes 5 seconds down.
We have gone ahead of the riders and are waiting on the category 2 climb of The Cut, which tops out at 73.8 kilometres. It also serves as a hot spot sprint.
13.45: St. Tiernan’s CC member Bryan Minnock is driving the Live Update car today.
There are scattered clouds at the moment but the sun is out right now. It’s not as warm as it was a month ago, but then again that was something of a heatwave.
13.46: The three chasers are two minutes back at the start of the KOM. The peloton is 3’50 down.
The break has passed us, and are riding well together. Simon Kelly is the sole Irish rider in the move. He’s been riding well in recent editions of the race, taking 6th overall last year.
13.54: Irvine has been dropped by the other two chasers.
13.57: Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes) attacks the leading group. He gets a decent gap, but a strong surge by Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) sees him catch and pass the Dane.
14.00: Heading towards the top, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) also attacks and sets off in pursuit of Anthony.
Behind, Irvine has been caught by the main field. So we have six up front [they should regroup after the top], two chasers and then the bunch.
14.11: Sure enough, the front group has come back together. Anthony took the prime at the top, with Van der Velde second. This doubles as a hot spot sprint and so he has taken first, first and second in the bonus sprints. Could he be in yellow this evening?
The riders covered 49 miles in the first two hours of racing.
14.12: We are now heading towards Mountrath.
Perras and Aiken are still chasing. They are at 1 minute and 50 seconds, with the peloton 3 minutes 30 back.
14.19: The results of the climb are as follows:
King of the Mountains/Hot Spot Sprint of The Cut (73.8 kilometres)
1, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery)
2, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands)
3, Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes)
4, Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha)
5, Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donelly Sean Kelly)
6, Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate)
There are still six leading riders, with two chasers 1 minute 57 back. The peloton – which split into several groups on the climb – is 2 minutes 47 down.
14.23: Aiken realises that there is no way they will catch the leaders, so he sits up. Perras persists for now.
14.30: The break is still clear but things are coming back together behind.
The riders have passed through the feedzone. We have covered approximately 96 kilometres thus far.
14.34: The main field are 2’34 back. There is no-one in between the leading group and the peloton.
14.40: The leaders are working well together.
As regards the Hot Spot Sprints, there are bonuses of three, two and one second for the three hot spot sprints which take place during the stage. The stage winner will get ten seconds, with the second and third-placed riders getting six and four.
14.50: Van der Velde has taken seven seconds in bonuses, so if he can take second or third on the stage he may be in yellow. However it is hard to see the group staying clear until the finish, making it more likely that the stage winner will be at the top of the leaderboard. Van der Velde is likely to be second overall after today, though.
A recap of the bonus sprints thus far:
Hot spot sprint, Newbridge (11.7 kilometres):
1, Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) 3 seconds
2, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 2 secs
3, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery) 1 sec
Hot Spot Sprint in Mountmellick (51.1 kilometres):
1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 3 seconds
2, Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) 2 seconds
3, Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 1 second
King of the Mountains/Hot Spot Sprint of The Cut (73.8 kilometres)
1, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery) 10 pts/3 seconds
2, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 8 pts/2 seconds
3, Michael Johansen (Denmark Vision Bikes) 6 pts/1 second
4, Ondrej Pavek (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) 4 pts
5, Simon Kelly (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donelly Sean Kelly) 3 pts
6, Andrei Mustonen (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) 1 pt
15.00: The leaders have covered 114 kilometres. There are now approximately 17 kilometres from the first passage of the finish line, then they will do a 25.4 kilometre final lap before the sprint to the line.
15.04: The break is working well. The gap is two minutes.
15.10: There are riders from various teams working at the front of the bunch, including Ireland, Australia FRF Couriers and Britain Recycling.co.uk. The gap is falling, down to 1 minute 29 seconds.
Chris Newton won the opening stage last year, narrowly pipping Tommy Evans (Dublin Usher Insulations). Evans is not competing this year, but Newton is; he is hoping to add to his impressive tally of two overall wins, one second place and eight stage victories.
15.17: The gap is still around about 1 minute 36 seconds. The leaders have covered 119 kilometres in three hours of racing.
15.21: The bunch is working well, keeping the gap to a manageable level. It will be hard for the break to stay clear. They really need a bigger buffer at this point.
15.28: The gap was 1 minute 16 seconds at the first passage of the finish line. Very shortly afterwards we passed the 25 kilometres to go marker.
15.35: The main bunch is coming back at the break now. They are inside 20 kilometres to go and the team cars have been pulled out of the gap. There is just 36 seconds between both sets of riders. This could be a bunch sprint.
15.38: The gap is 30 seconds. We are going on to the finish so bear with us if there is a gap in updates.
15.40: The break is going to be caught soon; 26 seconds is the difference between the lead group and the bunch.
15.42: The break has split, with Johansen, Mustonen and Anthony leaving the other three.
15.44: The three chasers are ten second back with the main field 21 seconds down.
15.46: The gap is now down to 15 seconds. They have approximately 10 kilometres to go.
Mustonen has sat up from the break.
15.47: The race is all together. Could this be a bunch sprint, or will someone clip away on the run in to the finish?
15.48: The bunch passes ten kilometres to go.
15.51: Alain Van der Velde (Netherlands) has a small gap on the main field.
15.52: He has been caught, so it is all together once more.
15.57: At the 3 km to go point, the race is all together...
15.59: Still together coming into the final kilometre...
16.00: Big bunch gallop...here we go...
16.01: And Mart Ojavee (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) takes the opening stage!
Paidi O'Brien gets second for the Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/ M.Donnelly Sean Kelly team, with Petr Pucelik (Czech Republic Sparta Praha) third.
Great finish... Ojavee should be in yellow, methinks.
O'Brien makes it a good start for the Irish.
16.06: Results are provisional, but we believe that is the correct order. Ojavee is likely to be the race leader, with Ricardo Van der Velde second overall thanks to the time bonuses picked up today.
O'Brien should be third overall, although all this has to be confirmed.
16.10: Time for quotes and results. That completes our live coverage of day one of the FBD Insurance Ras...thanks for reading. Come back later for report and results, then surf on over this direction tomorrow for stage two.
Over and out!
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Here Live Reports were last updated:Aug 26th, 2008 - 13:50:32
