11.00: Good morning and welcome to coverage of stage 5 of the FBD Insurance Rás. This could well prove to be the most decisive day of the race, given the six climbs which litter the 131 kilometre route from Dungloe to Buncrana.
The riders will cross Peirse Mor (category 3) after some 15.4 kilometres of racing, then hit Carabit (category 2, 18.3 km), Slavery (category 3, 93.2 km), Pinch Mountain (category 2, 102.8 km), Mamore Gap (category 1, 117.7 km) and Old Mountain (category 3, 121 km).
11.05: Of these, Mamore Gap is the monster. It’s one of the steepest climbs in the country and tops out approximately 13 kilometres from the finish. The riders have a descent from the summit, then hit the third category Old Mountain which, if memory serves correctly, is more difficult than that ranking would suggest.
11.10: Gaps opened up on Mamore may well hold until the finish. Ireland Subway Eat Fresh rider Paul Griffin likes climbing and may have to play his card today. There are not many big mountains left after this stage.
11.15: Twenty-nine riders have gone clear in what has been a very aggressive opening few kilometres. These are on the first KOM climb, Peirse Mor. There is a chasing group of 20 riders at 33 seconds. Another group is at 50 seconds.
It’s raining here and misty. At 15 degrees, it’s five or ten degrees less than some of the overseas riders will be accustomed to.
11.19: We will give an ID of the riders in the front group if and when the gap is established. Identifying and typing out 29 names takes quite a while!
Radio coverage is breaking up a lot, which complicates things.
11.28: As expected, the first two groups have come together. We expect all the major favourites to be in there, although if any of the big jerseys are missing we will let you know.
11.30: The peloton is at 2’12 seconds. We will try to get a guestimate as to how many riders are in the front group.
11.34: The race is in tatters, with one large front group, and then several small groups scattered all over the road towards Letterkenny.
11.36: As the drizzle continues to fall, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) is clear alone, hunting for KOM points. The former race leader is second in that competition.
11.38: He has been joined by four riders – Paídi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers), Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) and Yannick Tiedt (Germany Stevens Von Hact).
The 5 leaders are 30 seconds clear of a large chasing group. It appears that there is 52 riders in this group with, presumably, all of the race favourites.
11.42: The gap is 43 seconds after 30 kilometres of racing. Van der Velde must fancy his chances of nabbing some good KOM points. He started the day just two points behind race leader Jesse Anthony, who will be concentrating more on defending his yellow jersey.
11.47: The leaders are 26 seconds ahead of a smaller chasing group, with the bigger chasing group just behind them.
11.49: 11 chasers are 21 seconds back. 5 riders are 41 seconds down, then the large group is one minute in arrears.
The chasers are:
Yvo Kusters (Netherlands), Mark Cassidy, Stephen Gallagher, Glenn Bak (all Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Peter Herzig (Australia FRF Couriers), Chris Newton (Britain Recycling.co.uk), Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie), Dominque Rollin and race leader Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada), Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Developments) and Brian Kenneally (Meath MyHome.ie/BDBC).
These have been joined by five others: Paul Griffin (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh), Alain Van der Velde (Netherlands), Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers), Mart Ojavee (Estonia Kalev Chocolate) and Marcin Bialoblocki (Team Sportscover).
11.59: These 16 chasers are approximately 50 seconds behind the five leaders.
The group behind the 16 chasers is now about to join up with them.
12.08: There has been a big regrouping behind the leading quintet. David McCann (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh) is one of those who came up. The situation on the road is that there are five leaders, then 38 riders in the next group. They are almost a minute back.
We are now going into Letterkenny, having covered 50 kilometres of eventful racing.
12.10: The five leaders have gone the wrong way. They are getting back onto the course now. We in the press car were ahead of the riders and were also almost sent the wrong way at the same roundabout.
12.13: We are waiting for a time gap.
12.18: Roger Aiken (Armagh Big Picture Developments) has set off in pursuit of the five leaders and is 24 seconds back.
12.22: He is still 24 seconds back, while the yellow jersey group (the next group on the road) is 1’12 back.
12.24: Aiken is getting there…he is now just 12 seconds behind. Good riding.
The big chasing group is 1’36 behind. The US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada team of race leader Jesse Anthony are doing all the chasing.
12.29: Aiken has slipped back slightly – he is 18 seconds back.
Ricardo Van der Velde is stretching on the bike. If he can stay clear he’ll gobble up some important KOM points. Anthony’s chances of holding onto his mountains jersey (which is pink this year) may depend on a strong ride on Mamore and the final climb. If Van der Velde is caught before the climbs in the second half of the stage, his gamble may fail. It all depends on how prominent Anthony is on those later primes.
Of course, the yellow jersey is his big goal.
12.32: To recap, the leaders are:
Paídi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers), Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie), Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) and Yannick Tiedt (Germany Stevens Von Hacht).
O’Brien is pedalling smoothly and looks to be going well. He is the only Irishman in the break.
Aiken is now 28 seconds back, so he may not be able to get across. The riders have covered 69 kilometres.
The yellow jersey group is 1’50 back…
12.36: It is raining again, but not too heavily.
O’Brien has been riding very strongly this week, placing second on two stages. He started the day 11th overall, 1’02 back and is now race leader on the road. He’s a bit of a character and certainly would be a popular winner of a stage (or the race overall, if things worked out that way).
This race is very important for the Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team, given that most of their sponsors are Irish.
12.39: Aiken is 32 seconds back.
12.42: Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada are still doing the pace-setting at the front of the yellow jersey group.
To summarise, there are five leaders, one chaser, and a 37 man break containing most of the race favourites 1’50 back.
12.44: Alain Van der Velde (Netherlands) just crashed! However he is fortunately okay, up and riding once again.
12.46: Aiken is at 45 seconds.
12.53: After 84 kilometres of racing, Aiken has been recaptured by the yellow jersey group. There are now 38 chasers.
We are passing by the sea near Buncrana. The next KOM (category 3, Slavary) starts at the 91 kilometre mark and is 2.2 km long.
12.57: The gap is now 2’11. Given the severity of the Gap of Mamore, they will need a good cushion at the bottom if they are to stay away.
13.08: Van de Velde has picked up the points on Slavary, so he should be in the lead of that classification. We have yet to receive confirmation of the results of the earlier climbs.
Category 3, Slavary (93.2 km)
1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 5 pts
2, Paídi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 4
3, Yannick Tiedt (Germany Stevens Von Hacht) 3
4, Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers) 2
13.11: The yellow jersey group is 2’27 back.
Next on the menu: Pinch Mountain (category 2, 102.8 km), Mamore Gap (category 1, 117.7 km) and Old Mountain (category 3, 121 km). Things should start to get interesting in the chasing group…
13.20: Van der Velde got the next KOM of Pinch Mountain. The five leaders are still well clear as they head towards the 25 kilometre to go board.
We passed Julie O’Hagan and Jenny Fay on the climb. They are riding the route. Both are competing with the Rapha Condor team this year and are riding well. We will talk to them, to Siobhan Dervan and Louise Moriarty soon and update their progress after this race finishes on Sunday.
13.31: The gap is 2’43.. It will be interesting to see if they can stay clear to the finish. They have less than 25 km to go..
13.34: The gap was 2’40 at the 25 km to go board. The weather, to be frank, is minging…it’s raining quite heavily now.
The last KOM was as follows:
Pinch Mountain, category 2:
1, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) 10 pts
2, Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers) 8
3, Paídi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 6
4, Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) 3
5, Yannick Tiedt (Germany Stevens Von Hacht).
6, Patrick Gretsch (Germany Thuringer Energie)
13.39: The leaders have 20 km to go… They still have 2’40…can they do it?
13.42: We are a little ahead of the riders, who are about to hit the first category Gap of Mamore. It’s very steep and will cause carnage in the chase group…
.
13.47: This is really where some time gaps can be created by strong riders.
Oliver McQuaid wrote in about the Gap of Mamore.
“Back in the 1970s when we first tackled that monster, I was on the Irish team with Sean Kelly. He punctured halfway through the stage and got a straight through block with a top sprocket of 18. He was first over Mamore on 42/18 and went on to win the stage.”
Riders certainly won’t be using 18s today…
13.49: There is a good crowd at the top.
Van der Velde and Graf are currently about 10 metres ahead of Paídi O’Brien. He will try to limit his losses and make use of his fast finish. That depends, of course, on them staying clear. The chasers are 2 minutes back.
Van der Velde is now going clear alone. He’s going to end the day well ahead in the KOM competition, methinks…
13.52: The mobile coverage has been a bit patchy – bear with us.
13.55: Van der Velde has a good gap on Graf, with O’Brien close by. They have crested the top of the climb. No news yet on what is happening in the yellow jersey group.
After Mamore, there is a steep descent and then the road kicks up again for the category 3 climb of Old Mountain. After that, there is fast run down to the finish.
If Van der Velde can win the stage and/or hold the KOM jersey it will make up for losing yellow. He has a 11 second gap on the two chasers.
Further back Chris Newton (Britain Recycling.co.uk) and Glenn Bak (Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) are prominent.
13.58: Tiedt is at 59 seconds. We are trying to find out what is happening in the yellow jersey group.
Hegert is 1’19 back, having been dropped out of the front group.
Van der Velde has crested the final KOM. He is inside the final 10 km of racing. O’Brien and Graf are chasing.
14.00: Chris Newton, the winner the last time the race visited here, and Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) have left the other chasers. Martin started the day only four seconds back overall..is he riding into yellow?
14.04: Updates have been sparse as to what is happening in the yellow jersey group. We are trying to find out more…
Race leader Jesse Anthony is with a chasing group, which includes Alain Van der Velde (Netherlands), Stephen Gallagher and Glenn Bak (Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly), Peter McDonald, Peter Herzig and Jason Hegert (Australia FRF Couriers), Florian Frohn (Germany Thuringer Energie).
Due to the terrain, a lot of the radio transmissions are breaking up, so it is unclear as to where Newton and Graf are. But we surmise they are still clear.
14.16: Apologies for the delay!
Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) and Paidi O'Brien caught Van der Velde on the final run in to the finish..
Graf and O'Brien took first and second, with some observers speculating that O'Brien may have let the German win. The reason? Paidi is now in yellow... super ride..
That is yet to be confirmed, but it is believed that he has it...
14.20: Paul Watson was on a motorbike and saw the yellow jersey group on the top of Mamore. "It was like somebody threw a hand grenade in there...the riders were all over the place."
This plus the rocky terrain accounts for the lack of radio updates we got in the final few kilometres... Bear with us, we are waiting for some results which will give a clearer picture...
There is quite a bit of confusion here.. Tony Martin was ahead of Paidi O'Brien on GC and a rider with an obscured number came in with Chris Newton. Martin had been with Newton so there is a chance that the race judges missed out on this. He could actually be in yellow.. We should have some more news soon.
14.27: If Martin does get yellow, Paidi should be very close... Bear with us, we are as anxious as you all to find out!
14.33: Still waiting.. Martin has been called to the podium so it seems he may have got it. There was quite a bit of confusion at the finish, due to that obscured number and the fact that riders came in in ones and twos..
We should have results soon..
Even if O'Brien isn't in yellow, he will be the leading Irish contender. Paul Griffin and Brian Kenneally both lost time.
14.42: Okay, here we go.. Martin is indeed in yellow. Apologies to any Paidi supporters out there, but he is poised in second place overall..
Stage 5, Dungloe to Buncrana (provisional)
1, Nico Graf (Germany Thuringer Energie) 3 hours 12 mins 17 secs
2, Paidi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 sec
3, Ricardo Van der Velde (Netherlands) at 4 secs
4, Chris Newton (Britain Stena Line Recycling.co.uk) at 42 secs
5, Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) same time
6, David McCann (Ireland Subway Eat Fresh) at 1 min 13 secs
7, Stephen Gallagher (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) same time
8, Glenn Bak (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 24 secs
9, Patrick Gretsch (Germany Thuringer Energie)
10, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) both same time
General classification:
1, Tony Martin (Germany Thuringer Energie) 17hours 37 mins 20 secs
2, Paidi O’Brien (Ireland Murphy and Gunn/Newlyn Group/M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 17 secs
3, Jesse Anthony (US Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) at 38 secs
4, Peter McDonald (Australia FRF Couriers) at 42 secs
Confirmation: Martin was wearing a gillet, hence the confusion. He will start tomorrow in yellow, while Paidi is now in second place. Come back later for report, results and photos...thanks for reading...
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Here Live Reports were last updated:Aug 26th, 2008 - 13:50:32
