That clash of contenders will reach its crescendo on this concluding leg from Clara to Skerries, a 155 kilometre race featuring four category three climbs, namely Pluckhimin, Cross of the Cage and two ascents of the Black Hills.
The distance includes two laps of a tough finishing circuit in Skerries and, as was the case in the past three editions of the race, huge crowds are expected there.
--------
12.12: The start of the race has been delayed a little...we are not sure why. It’s about to start now, although things were further delayed when a rider punctured in the neutralised section.
12.15: 139 riders took the start. Simon Kelly (Dublin IRC Usher Insulations) did not sign on this morning.
It’s the final stage of the race – the riders will scrap it out over 155 kilometres and four category three climbs. It runs from Clara to Skerries, where the riders will do two laps of a tough finishing circuit. There have been huge crowds there the last two years.
12.20: The Britain Rapha Condor and the Germany Kuota Indeland teams have lined out the peloton, keeping things together.
12.25: The bunch is led by those two teams, rolling along at 60 kilometres per hour/ It’s beautiful and sunny, the best day thus far.
12.27: Chris McNamara (Britain Surrey Racing league) has launched the first attack of the day.
12.29: He’s been brought back.
12.36: Several others tried to jump away but were hauled back. Now Dale Appleby (Britain Candi TV Marshall’s Pasta) has gone clear.
12.37: He’s been caught.
12.45: The skies are almost completely clear and the bunch can finally enjoy some good weather. Nice way to end the race.
We hope it spurs them into action as things are pretty quiet now...Richardson’s Rapha Condor team are controlling things.
13.00: Still no attacks of any significance..nothing is going clear for now.
13.06: Rapha Condor and Germany are riding through, doing 50 - 60km/h. Nothing can get away with that.
13.07: There has been a big crash in the peloton..
The bunch has eased up to let them back up. We’ll let you know if anyone of significance is affected.
13.16: The riders have just passed the 50km board...after one hour of racing! Wow, that’s fast...
13.18: David O’Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton) was one of those involved in the crash, but he’s got back up and returned to the peloton. He’s leading the King of the Mountains classification.
13.25: The two teams have returned to the front and are driving things along.
13.40: We’d love to be reporting dramatics but things are tightly controlled...hopefully the climbs will shake things up a little.
13.48: We have covered 74 km...the first climb is at km 100. These are today’s hills:
Category 3 climb at Pluckhimin, km 100:
Category 3 climb at Cross of the Cage, km 119.3:
Category 3 climb at Black Hills (lap 1), km 132.5
Category 3 climb at Black Hills (lap 2), km 146.3:
The second of those is just before the entry to the finishing circuit, while the Black Hill climb is on each of two laps.
13.53: We unfortunately can’t go back to the bunch and watch what’s happening as these roads are quite small...we are being relayed information from race radio.
14.00: The final stage of the Tour of Catalunya has been settled in a bunch sprint. Greg Henderson (Columbia High Road) won the gallop ahead of Loyd Mondory (Ag2r) and Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas). Alejandro Valverdre (Caisse d’Epargne) held on to take the overall classification.
14.20:We are a little ahead of the riders and have just gone up the first climb...we’ll bring you results from that when they reach that point.
14.27: Here we go:
Category 3 climb at Pluckhimin, km 100:
1, Jan Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) 5 pts
2, Benny Deschrooder (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 4
3, Jacques j.v.Rensburg (China Trek Marco Polo) 3
4, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 2
O’Loughlin adds two points to his total.
14.29: After 104 km of racing, two riders have attacked and opened a slight lead. These are ten seconds clear:
Benny Deschrooder (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) and David Fletcher (Britain Halfords Bike Hut).
14.32: The two leaders are 19 seconds ahead now.
Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) and Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) have attacked...Christensen is second overall, so finally some fireworks are starting. Wilkinson was the race leader after the stage to Cobh but lost it two days later.
14.35: They bridged up to the leaders, but were themselves caught by the peloton.
14.39: Matt Stephens (Kildare Projector World) has attacked and has a small lead.
14.40: He’s been hauled back. The speed is clearly on.
14.50: The riders are now on the category 3 climb at Cross of the Cage (km 119.3):
Four riders went clear, including KOM leader David O;Loughlin. We don’t know if they took the KOM points or if their recapture came before the top.
14.55: The bunch is split into two parts. There’s 25 seconds between these two groups.
Three riders have attacked – they are : Mark Cassidy (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly), James Spragg (China Trek Marco Polo) and Martin Grashev (Greece Heraklion-Nessebar)
14.58: They have ten second’s lead.
No results have been announced for the climb as yet.
14.59: The three leaders are heading into Skerries. Their lead is down to six seconds. Meanwhile there’s 35 seconds between the two big groups.
15.01: Great – there are huge crowds here. Always very good support in Skerries...impressive.
15.03: Cassidy overshot a bend and is chasing the other two. They have all pulled away from the peloton.
He’s getting across to them, so there will be three leaders again. They are 20 seconds clear.
15.09: They were caught and three others went clear. They are: Laurent Didier (Denmark Designa Kokken), Russ Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) and Brian Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC).
We got confirmation of the last two climbs. The results are:
Category 3 climb at Cross of the Cage, km 119.3:
1, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 5pts
2, Spas Gyurov (Greece Heraklion-Nessebar) 4
3, Jacques j.v.Rensburg (China Trek Marco Polo) 3
4, Jaco Venter (China Trek Marco Polo) 2
Category 3 climb at Black Hills (lap 1), km 132.5:
That means David O’Loughlin wins the KOM classification.
15.13: The three leaders have been caught by the bunch.
15.18: More attacks are going...bear with us. We had to change the laptop battery...
Two riders attacked and have been clear for a couple of kilometres. They are Pete Williams (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) and Rob Partridge (Britain Halfords Bike Hut).
Then four chasers quite close to them. They are 11 seconds back, and closing fast. They are Nicholas Walker (Australia Cinelli-Down Under), Stefan Pöll (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers), Mark Cassidy (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) and Mark McNally (Britain Halfords Bike Hut).
The main field is about 30 seconds behind the leaders – maybe more.
15.22: Those two front groups are merging, making it six leaders. They seem to be pulling away from the Rapha Condor-led peloton.
15.29: There were three others chasing, but they have been caught. Those six leaders are, we think, well clear. They have crossed the prime line for the last time, which means they are inside the final nine kilometres of this FBD Insurance Rás.
15.30: The gap is now 30 seconds...they should stay clear.
Category 3 climb at Black Hills (lap 2), km 146.3:
1, Nicholas Walker (Australia Cinelli-Down Under) 5pts
2, Stefan Pöll (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) 4
3, Mark McNally (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 3
4, Mark Cassidy (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 2
15.33: The gap is now 20 seconds..the six leaders are all together, inside the last 6km...
15.34: The gap is now 14 seconds!!! If they mess around at all they will be caught...
Wow...the bunch must be screaming along... One rider is jumping across...it is Sean Downey (Ireland). They have 3km to go.
It's all together heading into the final two kilometres....the tension is building here in Skerries...
There's been a crash inside the final 2km..
15.39: There is a split in the field because of that crash...
Big sprint...here we go...
Jaan Kirsipuu wins!! He takes it easily, his second win of this race...
He mustn't have gone clubbing last night :)
Looks like he beat a Halfords rider...could have been Ian Wilkinson, we are awaiting confimation...bear with us..
The yellow jersey of Simon Richardson finished about ten seconds back due to the split in the bunch...he wins the race.
15.49: Correction...Eeckhout took second on the stage, ahead of Ian Wilkinson and Russell Downing. So Eeckhout wins the points jersey..
With O'Loughlin winning the mountains classification, the Irish-registered Continental team has two jerseys.. Simon Richardson has the yellow.
15.58:
Here's the confirmed results:
FBD Insurance Rás (2.2)
Stage eight, Clara – Skerries:
1, Jaan Kirsipuu (Norway Giant-Veolia)150km in 3 hours 25 mins 13 secs
2, Niko Eeckhout (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly)
3, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut)
4, Russell Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls)
5, Paul Healion (Ireland National Team)
6, Sam Bennett (Tipperary Dan Morrissey)
7, Espen Jogert (Norway Giant-Veolia)
8, Jaco Venter (China Trek Marco Polo)
9, Ian Bibby (Britain Halfords Bike Hut)
10, Stefan Ganser (Germany Kuota-Indeland)
11, Laurent Didier (Denmark Designa Kokken)
12, Mark Cassidy (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly)
13, Kasper Jebjerg (Denmark Designa Kokken)
14, Wouter Sybrandy (Britain C'Shire Sigmasport)
15, Spas Gyurov (Greece Heraklion-Nessebar) all same time
County rider:
1, Sam Bennett (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) 3 hours 25 mins 13 secs
2, Mark Nugent (Waterford Comeragh CC)
3, Brian Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC) both same time
KOM Primes:
Category 3 climb at Pluckhimin, km 100:
1, Jan Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) 5 pts
2, Benny Deschrooder (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 4
3, Jacques j.v.Rensburg (China Trek Marco Polo) 3
4, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 2
Category 3 climb at Cross of the Cage, km 119.3:
1, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 5pts
2, Spas Gyurov (Greece Heraklion-Nessebar) 4
3, Jacques j.v.Rensburg (China Trek Marco Polo) 3
4, Jaco Venter (China Trek Marco Polo) 2
Category 3 climb at Black Hills (lap 1), km 132.5:
Category 3 climb at Black Hills (lap 2), km 146.3:
1, Nicholas Walker (Australia Cinelli-Down Under) 5pts
2, Stefan Pöll (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) 4
3, Mark McNally (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 3
4, Mark Cassidy (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 2
International team:
1, Britain Halfords Bike Hut, 10 hours 15 mins 39 secs
2, Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly
3, Ireland National Team
4, Norway Giant Veolia
5, Denmark Designa Kokken, all same time
County team:
1, Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC, 10 hours 15 mins 39 secs
2, Tipperary Dan Morrissey, same time
3, Dublin KTM Winning Solutions, at 4 mins 58 secs
4, Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies, same time
5, Dublin IRC Usher Insulations, at 6 mins 27 secs
Final general classification:
1, Simon Richardson (Britain Rapha Condor) 30 hours 57 mins 17 secs
2, Mads Christensen (Denmark Designa Kokken) at 2 mins 49 secs
3, Jan Barta (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) at 3 mins 2 secs
4, Darren Lapthorne (Britain Rapha Condor) at 3 mins 24 secs
5, Ian Wilkinson (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) at 3 mins 29 secs
6, Chris Newton (Britain Rapha Condor) at 5 mins 29 secs
7, Russell Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) at 6 mins 7 secs
8, David McCann (Ireland National Team) at 6 mins 9 secs
9, Alexander Gottfried (Germany Kuota-Indeland) at 6 mins 38 secs
10, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) at 6 mins 53 secs
11, Rune Jogert (Norway Giant-Veolia) at 7 mins 17 secs
12, Josef Kugler (Austria Arbö KTM Junkers) at 7 mins 18 secs
13, Benny De Schrooder (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) same time
14, Mark McNally (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) at 7 mins 23 secs
15, Brian Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC) at 7 mins 46 secs
U23 Rider Overall:
1, Mark McNally (Britain Halfords Bike Hut) 31 hours 4 mins 40 sec
2, Nicholas Walker (Australia Cinelli-Down Under) at 25 secs
3, Sam Bennett (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) at 33 secs
4, Jaco Venter (China Trek Marco Polo) at 41 secs
5, Stephen Halpin (Ireland Development U23) at 1 min 35 secs
CI Category 2 overall:
1, John Dempsey (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) 31 hours 14 mins 57 sec
2, John Mason (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC) at 3mins 36 secs
3, Daniel Clifford (Kildare Projector World) at 5 mins 21 secs
4, Chris Coyle (Mayo Castlebar WesternEdge) at 10 mins 52 secs
5, Graham Hurley (Dublin DTC Orwell Wheelers) at 14 mins 14 secs
County Rider Overall:
1, Brian Kenneally (Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC) 31 hours 5 mins 3 secs
2, Sam Bennett (Tipperary Dan Morrissey) at 10 secs
3, Paul Griffin (Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies) at 1 min 38 secs
4, Philip Lavery (Dublin KTM Winning Solutions) at 4 mins 23 secs
5, Micéal Concannon (Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies) at 5 mins 15 secs
Points Competition:
1, Niko Eeckhout (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 84 pts
2, Jaan Kirsipuu (Norway Giant-Veolia) 82
3, Russell Downing (Britain Candi TV Marshalls) 82
Mountains Competition:
1, David O'Loughlin (Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly) 62
2, Kit Gilham (Britain C'Shire Sigmasport) 45
3, David McCann (Ireland National Team) 38
International Team Overall:
1, Britain Rapha Condor, 93 hours 44 secs
2, Denmark Designa Kokken, at 9 mins 42 secs
3, Austria Arbo KTM Junkers, at 10 mins
4, Ireland An Post M. Donnelly Grant Thornton Sean Kelly, at 13 mins 28 secs
5, Ireland National Team, at 16 mins 14 secs
County Team Overall:
1, Meath Engraveit.ie/BDBC, 93 hours 28 mins 37 secs
2, Tipperary Dan Morrissey, at 1 min 22 secs
3, Kerry Total Cleaning Supplies, at 9 mins 35 secs
4, Dublin IRC Usher Insulations, at 12 mins 3 secs
5, Waterford Comeragh CC, at 35 mins 34 secs
Great win for Richardson, and for Kirsipuu today. Eeckhout and O'Loughlin take the green and mountains classifications.
We gotta run get quotes now, so we'll leave it there. Thanks again for reading, and for the positive feedback we received...that was appreciated, even if we didn't have time to reply!
Thanks too to FBD for backing this coverage, and to An Post for backing our race reports.. We had record hits this week, so it was a great experience. Over and out for now!
Please send us your feedback on Live Reports Click
Here Live Reports were last updated:Feb 2nd, 2010 - 19:01:59
